CNN
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The Minnesota Timberwolves reached their second straight Western Conference Finals as they downed the Golden State Warriors 121-110 to close out a 4-1 series win.
The Warriors were again without injured star guard Steph Curry, who hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring strain in the second quarter of Game 1.
However, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr didn’t use Curry’s absence as an excuse for his team’s postseason exit, insisting that “injuries are a part of the playoffs.”
“There’s no sense in dwelling on it,” he added. “I don’t want to take anything away from what Minnesota just accomplished. No sense in even talking about Steph.”
Julius Randle – who is quickly earning the moniker ‘Playoff Julius’ on social media – led the Timberwolves with 29 points on 13-of-18 shooting to go with eight rebounds and five assists.
Randle joined the Timberwolves ahead of the season in a big trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks and endured his share of teething pains during his first season in Minnesota.
But the three-time All Star is averaging almost 24 points per game in the playoffs and has scored at least 20 points in eight of the Timberwolves’ 10 postseason games so far.
“Just how he creates for others and his impact on the game,” Minnesota star guard Anthony Edwards said when asked what stood out about Randle’s performances.
“The way he controls the tempo, the way he pushes the pace, the way he brings us along with him when he pushes the pace and even his defense, his defense has gone to another level.
“The way he communicates with us, his attention to detail. Everything, man. It’s incredible. It’s incredible to be his teammate and he brings it every night. He shows you that he wants to win, so I’m happy to have him next to me.”
Edwards finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists and three blocks. Rudy Gobert added 17 points, missing just one of his nine shots, Mike Conley had 16, Jaden McDaniels had 14 and Donte DiVincenzo had 13 points off the bench.
Minnesota led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter and managed to hold off a late Warriors run that closed the gap to nine in the fourth.
Brandin Podziemski led the Warriors with a playoff career-high 28 points, while Jonathan Kuminga added 26 off the bench.
Jimmy Butler had another disappointing night, scoring just 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Butler earned the ‘Playoff Jimmy’ nickname for his monumental effort in dragging the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023, but didn’t get close to that level during this postseason.
The six-time All Star suffered a pelvis injury after a hard fall in Game 2 of the Warriors’ first-round win over the Houston Rockets, though he insisted he was “good enough to compete.”
After losing in five games to the Dallas Mavericks in last season’s Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves will face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Denver Nuggets this time around.
OKC and Denver play Game 6 on Thursday night with the Thunder holding a 3-2 series lead.
Celtics avoid elimination against the Knicks
The defending champion Boston Celtics avoided playoff elimination with a 127-102 home win against the New York Knicks to take the series to a Game 6.
In Boston’s first game without the injured Jayson Tatum, who underwent successful surgery on a ruptured Achilles, Derrick White stepped up in his absence with a game-high 34 points, including 7-of-13 from three-point range.
It was a back-and-forth game with 11 lead changes until the Celtics pulled away midway through the third quarter.
Josh Hart had 24 points for the Knicks while Jalen Brunson added 22.
Game 6 is at Madison Square Garden on Friday.