The Wolves gave the Warriors no chance and won for the second night in a row at the Chase Center (110-117), leaving the series practically over (3-1) in a game in which the Warriors again missed their great star, Stephen Curry, who was injured in the hamstring in the first game that his team won in Minnesota and have not lifted their heads without him, who encouraged his team from the bench and ended up frustrated.
Golden State stood up until the break (60-58), but saw helplessly how in the third quarter the Wolves gave them a lethal bite with a 0-17 run (68-85) led by consecutive three-pointers from Anthony Edwards, who along with Julius Randle was the best of his team.
Warriors’ sterile pride
The Warriors showed pride with a late rally that put them 10 points behind with a minute to go (105-115), but it only served to make the final score more respectable. It was the third consecutive defeat for the San Francisco team in these playoffs, the first time this has happened under Steve Kerr’s management since 2016, when they also suffered three consecutive defeats against the Cavaliers.
Edwards was the best for the Wolves, with 30 points (5/10 2-pointers, 6/11 3-pointers and 2/3 free throws), five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block, despite barely playing the last quarter with the game already decided. There was also the outstanding performance of Julius Randle with 31 points (7/13 2-pointers, 4/8 3-pointers and 5/6 free throws), five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. For the second consecutive night he scored at least 30 points in the best scoring performance of his career in a playoff game.
The Warriors, who saw their opponents limit their outside threat by leaving them at 8/27 from three-point range, were led by substitute Johnatan Kuminga with 23 points (11/12 tl). But neither his contribution nor those of Draymond Green (14+7+2), Jimmy Butler (14+6+3) and Buddy Hield (13+4) were enough to stop the freshness, physicality and offensive impetus of a far superior Wolves side who could wrap up the series when they return to Minnesota in the early hours of Thursday morning.
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