Online Reporter
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.
“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 realised 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.”
Jalen Brunson scored 26 of his 39 points in the second half and the New York Knicks became the first home team to win in the series by dispatching the Boston Celtics 121-113 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 points, and 11 rebounds and Mikal Bridges also had 23 for the Knicks, who recovered from a 14-point third-quarter deficit. OG Anunoby made some key plays late while contributing 20 points.
“They hit us early and obviously we got into a hole,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I love the way we fought back and we showed a lot of toughness and more discipline in the second half and timely plays. Everybody worked together on both ends of the floor.”
Brunson also had 12 assists for third-seeded New York.
Boston star Jayson Tatum sustained a possible serious right ankle injury late in the contest. Tatum had 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. He knocked down seven 3-pointers for the second-seeded Celtics, who squandered 20-point leads while dropping the series’ first two games.
“I got back there, talked to the medical staff and they told me it’s a lower-body injury for Jayson Tatum and we’ll get an MRI in the morning,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said. —Reuters.
