Timberwolves beat Warriors in Game
5 to reach Western Conference finals for 2nd straight year
[May 15, 2025]
By DAVE CAMPBELL
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards approached for a handshake during
Julius Randle's postgame TV interview, the duo putting a seal on
another dominant series for Minnesota in these NBA playoffs.
Randle scored 29 points on 13-for-18 shooting to send the
Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals for the second
straight year with a 121-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors
in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
“I just try to do my best to read the game in the best way I can,”
Randle said. “They threw different coverages at us all series long.”
Edwards had 22 points and 12 assists for the sixth-seeded Wolves,
who will face the Denver-Oklahoma City winner next. They could get
five days off, if the Nuggets beat the Thunder on Thursday to force
a Game 7 in the other West semifinal series.
Brandin Podziemski had a playoff career-high 28 points for the
Warriors, who again played without star Stephen Curry because of the
hamstring strain that forced him out of the second quarter in Game 1
and took the heart out of their entire offensive operation.
“I don’t want to take anything away from what Minnesota just
accomplished,” coach Steve Kerr said. “No sense in even talking
about Steph.”
Jonathan Kuminga provided another energy boost off the bench with 26
points, but Podziemski’s performance came too late and the
production from Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield was consistently too
little after they led the series-opening win.
Golden State presented far more of a defensive challenge than the
Los Angeles Lakers did for Minnesota during their five-game series
in the first round, but the collection of every-level scorers the
Wolves can throw at an opponent when they’re moving the ball and
pushing the pace simply wore down the Warriors over the course of
the series.
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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) celebrates after
scoring during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball
second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors,
Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Rudy Gobert was a force around the rim with 17
points, Mike Conley had 16 points and eight assists, and Donte
DiVincenzo snapped out of a slump with 13 points as the Wolves shot
a staggering 77% on 2-pointers (36 for 47). They set franchise
postseason records for assists (36) and field goal percentage
(62.8%).
Series close-out games can sometimes be the toughest to win, but the
Wolves played with a ferocity paired with their shooting touch that
all but portended victory. Randle kept up his superb postseason,
providing a constant source of energy and production.
The Wolves stretched their lead as high as 25 points in the third
quarter, large enough to withstand a late Warriors push that pulled
them to 99-90 with 7:11 left. But Edwards answered with a 3, and the
crowd started mixing “Wolves in 5! Wolves in 5!” chants in with the
roars for each made basket that got them closer to advancing.
“There is no satisfaction,” Edwards said. “We just got here.”
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