The Timberwolves put the finishing touches Wednesday on what had been a foregone conclusion for the past week, blitzing Golden State 121-110 at Target Center to win the Western Conference semifinal series 4-1.
Minnesota advances to the West Finals for the second straight season and will meet either Oklahoma City or Denver in the next round. The Wolves will start that series on the road, with Game 1 either on Sunday or Tuesday.
That series will require significantly better play from the Wolves.
Minnesota surrendered 27 second-chance points on Wednesday while turning the ball over 21 times. But it didn’t matter. Not against these Warriors, who were dead in the water the moment Steph Curry went down with a hamstring injury in the second quarter of Game 1.
From that point on, the Timberwolves’ margin for error expanded to the size of a sea.
The entire series was largely a celebration for Minnesota, who finally got to clinch a series victory at Target Center for the first time since 2004.
Julius Randle got to exert his physical dominance over the smaller Warriors. Anthony Edwards got to pick his spots to combust offensively. Minnesota got to use its endless supply of lengthy perimeter defenders to harass a Warriors team that lost its offensive hub and identity and was suddenly forced to ask a number of players to do things with which they were not familiar.
The result was four straight Wolves’ wins, three of which came with ease. Even in Minnesota’s come-from-behind victory in Game 3, Golden State was largely helpless down the stretch run.
On Wednesday, Minnesota simply overpowered the Warriors with shot making. The Timberwolves shot 63% from the field, including 43% from distance.
Randle continues to be Minnesota’s best player in the playoffs, this time finishing with 29 points and eight rebounds. Edwards had 22 points and seven assists to help cancel out seven turnovers. Rudy Gobert had 17 points, while Mike Conley had 16. Minnesota scored 72 points in the paint, the most any team has tallied in these playoffs.
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