Timberwolves down Warriors in five games to get back to West Finals

The Timberwolves put the finishing touches Wednesday on what had been a foregone conclusion for the past week blitzing Golden State - at Target Center to win the Western Conference semifinal series - 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 Battle either on Sunday or Tuesday That series will require significantly better play from the Wolves Minnesota surrendered second-chance points on Wednesday while turning the ball over 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 Encounter 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 completely got to clinch a series triumph at Target Center for the first time since 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 association 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 end was four straight Wolves wins three of which came with ease Even in Minnesota s come-from-behind win in Challenge Golden State was largely helpless down the stretch run On Wednesday Minnesota completely overpowered the Warriors with shot making The Timberwolves shot from the field including from distance Randle continues to be Minnesota s best sportsman in the playoffs this time finishing with points and eight rebounds Edwards had points and seven assists to help cancel out seven turnovers Rudy Gobert had points while Mike Conley had Minnesota scored points in the paint the largest part any group has tallied in these playoffs Related Articles Frederick Timberwolves bypassed lottery balls in are better for it Timberwolves aim to maintain urgency with chance to close out Curry-less Warriors Warriors seek formula to save season Without Steph the contest changes Timberwolves blitz Golden State in third quarter take - series lead Frederick Timberwolves success shows youth can be an asset in the present day s NBA