Anthony Edwards poured at a game-high 36 points, Julius Randle had 24 as part of a triple double, and the Minnesota Timberwolves took home court advantage in a second-round playoff series with the second-round warriors, who won a 102-97 victory in San Francisco, California.
Game 4 of the Western Conference’s Top 7 Series is scheduled for Monday night in San Francisco, with the sixth seed Timberwolves leading 2-1.
Jimmy Butler III scored a team high 33 points on Saturday in the seventh seed Golden State.
In a closely contested game, the Warriors clung to within 84-82, fouling two game separation fouls from defensive Ace Draymond Green within 18 seconds in the final five minutes.
The Timberwolves took control from there, earning triple from Jaden McDaniels and three-point plays from Rudy Goatbert.
“We certainly make some shots,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. “We’re stopped. We were stopped all the way through the regular season. Now we just won the ownership battle in clutch time. We’re not. We’re not returning the ball with cheap turnovers. We’re not giving up on many opportunities.”
The 3-pointer by Edwards, fifth in his game, except for Minnesota’s second consecutive victory at 1:19.
Edwards’ 36 points were his second in the postseason, only in a 43-point blast in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. He hit 13 of his 28 shots on Saturday.
“The team was really good defense,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I hugged them to 102. That’s a pretty good number. But Randle and Edwards both advanced to the second half. That was the key. Especially in the fourth, that was the difference.”
Randle complemented the Timberwolves with 10 rebounds, a game-high 12 assists and three steals for 24 points.
“He plays with so much power and determination,” Finch said of Randle. “He’s off early, offensively, cites a ton of energy on his defense with his body and rebounds. He’s playing the full game for us.”
McDaniels added 15 points and Gobert scored a game-high 13 rebounds for Minnesota.
He’s the most in Butler’s 33 points in 26-26 shooting since he scored 35 for the Miami Heat in 2023’s Eastern Conference Finals match 1 in Boston. I also found time for seven rebounds and team high 7 assists.
“Man, Jimmy was incredible,” Kerr said. “He really took control of the game for us and put him in a position to win. We couldn’t close it. But he was great all night.”
Jonathan Cuminga pushed him up to increased playtime as the Warriors backed Butler with a career-high 30 points in the postseason, as they tried to fill the gap in Curry’s regular scoring. He only had 43 total in Golden State’s first nine playoff games.
“JK (Jonathan Kuminga) played one of the best games of his life,” Kerr said. “It was great to see. Especially without Steph (curry), you can see how much he is needed in this matchup.”
Buddy Hald took the Warriors’ 14 points by shooting 4-8 with three pointers, and Brandin Posiemski collected team-high rebounds on the night he shot 10-1.
The Celtics fill the Knicks in Game 3
In a previous playoff game on Saturday, Jason Tatum finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and the Boston Celtics won the host New York Knicks 115-93 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Series.
Payton Pritchard scored 23 points from the Boston bench to take the Knicks’ lead 2-1 in the final seven series. Jalen Brown added 19 points, while Derrick White had 17 points.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points on a 21-9 shot. Karl Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
After struggling to score in the first two games of the series, the Celtics found rhythm on offense. Boston shot 48.2% overall (40 out of 83), 50% (20 out of 40) from the 3-point range, while New York scored 40% from the field (32 out of 80) and 20% (5 out of 25) beyond the arc.
“They got some pretty looks early. They see it in. It gives them confidence. And then it’s hard to stop them,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We have to be more aware. We cannot allow missed shots to take away from (our) defensive tenacity. We have to bounce back.”
Tatum created a basket with Boston in the top 112-89 with 2:40 left. He assisted Al Horford’s three-pointer in his next possession, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzola left the starter rest for the rest of the game, leaving the score out of reach.
“This is the fun part. You won’t be on a journey to make it easier,” Mazzulla said. “It was dark, but in a good way. You just have to make use of your darkness. That’s all.”
Game 4 of the Top 7 Series will take place in New York on Monday.
