San Francisco (AFP) – Anthony Edwards scored 36 points and rallied the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 102-97 victory over Golden State on Saturday to seize the lead in their NBA playoff series. The Warriors, missing star guard Stephen Curry with a left hamstring strain, dominated defensively before the T-Wolves battled back in the fourth quarter behind Edwards and Julius Randle, who had a triple double with 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Asked about the keys to a fightback triumph, Edwards said, “Playing as a team, getting stops on the defensive end and limiting those guys to one shot.” The Timberwolves took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference second-round playoff series, with game four on Monday at San Francisco. “You can’t ever get too comfortable,” Edwards said. “This is a championship DNA team. This is what they do, so we’ve got to be ready at all times.”
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Edwards had eight points in the first half but scored 28 points in the second half, 13 in the fourth quarter, and made 10 of his last 16 shots. “I stunk in the first half,” Edwards said. “But you know, that happens. Shots are going to fall. Shots are not going to fall sometimes. But as long as you trust the work, keep shooting it and shoot with confidence, you’ll be all right.” He praised Randle’s first playoff triple double. “He’s big time. He has come through in every game for us in the playoffs,” Edwards said. “The way he’s finding people (with passes) and getting us open looks, I can’t ask for nothing better.”
In Saturday’s only other NBA game, defending champion Boston routed New York 115-93 at Madison Square Garden to pull within 2-1 in their Eastern Conference second-round series, with game five Monday in New York. The Celtics had squandered 20-point leads in two home playoff losses to the Knicks with woeful three-point shooting, but Boston hit 20-of-40 from beyond the arc and held firm to the finish to blow out New York, knowing no NBA team down 0-3 had rallied to win a series.
“We understood the magnitude of this game,” Boston’s Jayson Tatum said. “We needed this one. Didn’t like the way we felt after last game, so just coming out here with the right mindset, just trying to put it all together.” At San Francisco, the Warriors led 42-40 at half-time without making a three-pointer – their first playoff first half since 2007 without a hoop from beyond the arc. Butler, who had 18 first-half points, scored six and Kuminga added five in an 11-0 run that gave the Warriors their first lead at 23-21 early in the second quarter.
Golden State kept the T-Wolves without a basket for the last 6:29 of the second quarter and closed the half on a 13-1 run, but Edwards lifted the T-Wolves onto his shoulders and carried them to the finish with a dazzling second-half surge.
Reserve Payton Pritchard, the 2025 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, led Boston’s blowout win with 23 points while Jayson Tatum added 22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Jaylen Brown had 19 points and Derrick White scored 17. “We understand Monday is going to be a great atmosphere, a big game. It’s going to be fun,” Tatum said. “Just coming out with the right mindset, understanding we played better but we can play a lot better based on a lot of things we did we really didn’t like tonight. So just building off that.”
The Celtics overcame two humbling defeats to boost their chances at Boston’s first back-to-back NBA titles since 1968-69. “You don’t get into the journey for it to be easy,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “It has been dark, but in a good way. You’ve just got to tap into your darkness, and that’s it. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
Jalen Brunson led New York with 27 points while Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who have not reached the conference finals since 2000. “We need to play with more of a sense of urgency,” Brunson said. “I don’t think we came with the mindset we needed. A lot we need to discuss and figure out.”
© 2024 AFP
