Anthony Edwards poured 11 of his 30 points into a 17-0 third-quarter flurry as the Minnesota Timberwolves moved within one win of a second consecutive berth in the Western Conference finals with a 117-110 road win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 on Monday in San Francisco.
Julius Randle led the way with 31 points and Jaden McDaniels contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, who have rallied from a series-opening loss to win three straight from the Stephen Curry-less Warriors.
Minnesota could clinch the best-of-seven series in Game 5 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Jonathan Kuminga had a team-high 23 points for seventh-seeded Golden State, which lost Curry to a hamstring injury during its Game 1 win.
The Warriors previously announced that their standout point guard would be re-evaluated prior to Game 5, with the possibility of returning at that point.
Golden State held a 60-58 halftime lead and the game was tied 68-all in the fourth minute of the third period before Edwards turned a floater into a three-point play to ignite the decisive run.
Edwards also buried a pair of 3-pointers and a short jumper among his 11 points, while Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo drilled shots from deep as part of a burst that lasted more than four minutes.
“The big third quarter was huge,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I thought we came out at halftime with the type of focus and intensity and purpose on offense and attention to detail on defense is what we needed from the start. But for the most part, I thought we were lucky to be just down a bucket at halftime. …
“(Edwards) was one of the guys that was most vocal at halftime and realized what was going on out there and we needed to be better. It started with him, really, and setting the tone.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Edwards’ third-quarter charge, “Ant got going and we decided to go to a bigger lineup … just to try to slow them down and slow Ant down. And obviously it didn’t work. They kept scoring, and we couldn’t score.”
Edwards finished 6-for-11 on 3-point attempts and Randle 4-for-8, helping the Timberwolves outscore the Warriors 48-24 from beyond the arc. Minnesota shot 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Warriors were 8-for-27 (29.6 percent).
“It felt like there were some (moments) in the third quarter where we got disconnected defensively and they got some wide-open looks,” Kerr said. “I also thought they hit some really tough shots as well.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 13 points and Conley 11 to go with a game-high-tying five assists for Minnesota, which needed just five games to upset the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in Round 1.
Kuminga used 11-for-12 success at the free-throw line to account for almost half his point total. The Warriors were unable to keep pace despite getting seven more foul shots than the Timberwolves and outscoring the visitors 28-23 at the line.
Jimmy Butler III took just nine shots and totaled 14 points with a team-high-tying three assists for the Warriors. Draymond Green also had 14 points to go with seven rebounds, while Buddy Hield scored 13 and Brandin Podziemski had 11 to complement four steals.
Golden State’s Kevon Looney was the team’s leading rebounder with eight to go with eight points.
“(The Timberwolves) played a great game and obviously took it to us, and we’ve got to bounce back,” Kerr said. “We’ve got a flight to Minneapolis tomorrow and a chance to extend the series, and that’s the plan.”
–Field Level Media
