Anthony Edwards poured in 36 factors to guide the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 102-97 comeback win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, giving them the sting of their NBA playoff sequence.
The Warriors, lacking star guard Stephen Curry with a left hamstring pressure, dominated defensively earlier than the T-Wolves battled again within the fourth quarter behind Edwards and Julius Randle, who had a triple-double with 24 factors, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.
Asked concerning the keys to a fightback triumph, Edwards stated, “Playing as a team, getting stops on the defensive end and limiting those guys to one shot.”
The Timberwolves took a 2-1 lead within the best-of-seven Western Conference second-round playoff sequence with recreation 4 on Monday at San Francisco.
“You can’t ever get too comfortable,” Edwards stated. “This is a championship DNA team. This is what they do, so we’ve got to be ready at all times.”
Edwards had eight factors within the first half however scored 28 factors within the second half, 13 within the fourth quarter, and made 10 of his final 16 photographs.
“I stunk in the first half,” Edwards stated. “But you know, that happens. Shots are going to fall. Shots are not going to fall sometimes. But as long as you trust the work, keep shooting it and shoot with confidence, you’ll be all right.”
He praised Randle’s first playoff triple-double.
“He’s big time. He has come through in every game for us in the playoffs,” Edwards stated. “The way he’s finding people (with passes) and getting us open looks, I can’t ask for nothing better.”
In Saturday’s solely different NBA recreation, defending champion Boston routed New York 115-93 at Madison Square Garden to tug inside 2-1 of their Eastern Conference second-round sequence with recreation 5 Monday in New York.
The Celtics had squandered 20-point leads in two house playoff losses to the Knicks with woeful three-point taking pictures however Boston hit 20-of-40 from past the arc and held agency to the end to blow out New York, realizing no NBA crew down 0-3 had rallied to win a sequence.
“We understood the magnitude of this game,” Boston’s Jayson Tatum stated. “We needed this one. Didn’t like the way we felt after last game, so just coming out here with the right mindset, just trying to put it all together.”
In San Francisco, the Warriors led 42-40 at halftime with out making a 3-pointer – their first playoff first half since 2007 with out a hoop from past the arc.
Butler, who had 18 first-half factors, scored six, and Kuminga added 5 in an 11-0 run, which gave the Warriors their first lead at 23-21 early within the second quarter.
Golden State saved the T-Wolves with out a basket for the final 6:29 of the second quarter and closed the half on a 13-1 run, however Edwards lifted the T-Wolves onto his shoulders and carried them to the end with a stunning second-half surge.
Tap into your darkness
Reserve Payton Pritchard, the 2025 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, led Boston’s blowout win with 23 factors whereas Jayson Tatum added 22 factors, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Jaylen Brown had 19 factors and Derrick White scored 17.
“We understand Monday is going to be a great atmosphere, a big game. It’s going to be fun,” Tatum stated.
“Just coming out with the right mindset, understanding we played better, but we can play a lot better based on a lot of things we did, we really didn’t like tonight. So just building off that.”
The Celtics overcame two humbling defeats to spice up their possibilities at Boston’s first back-to-back NBA titles since 1968-69.
“You don’t get into the journey for it to be easy,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated. “It has been dark, but in a good way. You’ve just got to tap into your darkness and that’s it. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
Jalen Brunson led New York with 27 factors whereas Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 factors and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who haven’t reached the convention finals since 2000.
“We need to play with more of a sense of urgency,” Brunson stated. “I don’t think we came with the mindset we needed. A lot we need to discuss and figure out.”
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