Knicks, Timberwolves One Win Away from Conference Finals

A pair of dangerous teams took 3-1 leads in their respective second round series’ on Monday as the New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics at home 121-113 and the Minnesota Timberwolves got the better of the Golden State Warriors 117-110. 

Jalen Brunson, in 40 minutes, was the Knicks’ high man with 39 points, 12 assists, and 5 rebounds. Brunson shot 14-for-25 and 4-for-8 from downtown in the game, while Karl-Anthony Towns was expertly efficient going 11-for-15 from the floor with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Mikal Bridges in 44 minutes also scored 23 points with 7 rebounds. He shot 11-for-21 from the field. OG Anunoby shot 8-for-14 (4-for-8 from deep) for 20 points. The Knicks collectively shot 54.3% and 12-for-34 from 3-point range. They outrebounded the Celtics 43-31. 

Jayson Tatum had an exceptional game for the Celtics (42 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 16-for-28, 7-for-16 from deep in 40 minutes), but left the game with three minutes remaining after diving on the floor. He was unable to put weight on his leg and was wheeled to the locker room. Derrick White was 6-for-11 from downtown for 23 points, while Jaylen Brown shot 7-for-16 but 2-for-8 from downtown for 20 points and 7 rebounds. Payton Prichard was 4-for-10 (2-for-7 from deep) for 12 points in 20 minutes. 

The Celtics collectively shot 48.1% and made 18-of-48 triples, but the rebounding disparity was major. The Knicks also made clutch plays down the stretch. The home team was down 11 points after one quarter (39-28) but outscored the Celtics 70-51 in the second half. 

And so the Celtics, the team with the NBA’s most electric offense and most complete starting five in the NBA finds itself down 3-1 to a gritty New York team led by a fearless pitbull of a point guard. For Jayson Tatum's sake and the Celtics’ sake, let’s hope his injury is not serious. It would be a shame to see the series finish without one of the best players in the game. 

At Chase Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves took a 3-1 lead with a seven-point win thanks to Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, who became the second pair of Timberwolves’ teammates since 2004 (Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell) to score 30 in the same playoff game. 

Edwards took over in the third quarter, hitting from downtown and getting to the basket. He and backcourt mate Mike Conley drilled three consecutive 3-pointers (Edwards accounted for two of them) as part of a 12-0 run that gave the Timberwolves an 80-68 lead and forced a Warrior timeout with 5:30 to go in the quarter. In the first seven minutes of the quarter, the Warriors had scored just 8 points. An elbow jump shot by Edwards made the score 85-68, giving him 30 points. Jonathan Kuminga, who was the Warriors’ top performer with 23 points in 30 minutes (6-for-13 shooting, 11-for-12 from the line), ended the Wolves’ run with a fastbreak layup. Edwards, who had 16 points in the third quarter and finished the game with 30 points (5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 11-for-21, 6-for-11 from deep), registered his 13th career 30-point playoff game. 

The Wolves took a 20-point lead, 95-75, after a Jaden McDaniels theft of Buddy Hield and layup. A screen and roll between Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Julius Randle led to a Randle layup, giving the Timberwolves a 97-77 lead at the end of the third. Their +22 point differential in the quarter (39-17) was the best in any quarter in franchise playoff history.  

The Timberwolves maintained their big advantage throughout most of the fourth quarter, with their stars exciting early (Edwards with two minutes remaining). The Warriors’ bench players went on a little run to close the game to some degree, hence the seven point margin of victory. 

Randle was spectacular in a best supporting actor role for Edwards, the power forward putting up 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists on 11-for-21 including 4-for-8 from downtown. McDaniels was 4-for-8 for 10 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. 

Jimmy Butler shot 5-of-9 for 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Draymond Green also scored 14 points (6-of-14, 14 points, 7 rebounds). Hield struggled, 4-for-11 (2-for-6 from three) for 13 points, and Brandin Podziemski also struggled, 11 points on 3-for-14 shooting (0-for-4 from distance). 

The win for the Timberwolves was their 10th road victory in the last two playoffs (most in the NBA) and the three-consecutive playoff losses for the Warriors are the first time that has occurred under Steve Kerr since the 2016 Finals. 

The Timberwolves shot 49.4% from the field and made 16-of-34 long balls and 23-of-26 free-throws. Rebounds were a wash at 38 apiece, though the Timberwolves turned the ball over 19 times to the Warriors’ 15. 

The Warriors shot 43.5% and made only 8 of their 27 attempts from downtown, and 28-of-33 from the line. 

Stephen Curry will be re-evaluated on Wednesday, ahead of Game 5 in Minnesota. It is stating the obvious that the team needs him to stay alive in this series. Otherwise, the Timberwolves may be headed to their second consecutive Western Conference Finals and third in franchise history.