By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a win away from securing the first seat in the West finals following a huge win over the Golden State Warriors, 117-110, in Game 4 of their Western Conference best-of-seven semifinal playoff series on May 13, 2025.
After trailing by five points in the first half, the Timberwolves stepped on the gas pedal in the third quarter and banked on a momentum-changing 39-17 run that steered them to a quick double-digit lead entering the final period.
Anthony Edwards was a walking bucket for Minnesota during that demoralizing run as he torched Golden State with an insane 13-point explosion in just a span of three minutes midway through the third.
The young superstar turned a three-point deficit into a 17-point lead in just the blink of an eye, forcing Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr to call back-to-back emergency timeouts in hopes of halting the bleeding of his struggling squad.
However, none of those momentum-breaking attempts bothered Minnesota’s blitz as the trio of Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, and Mike Conley continued what Edwards started when he went to the bench for his quick rest.
Despite Kerr’s quick personnel rotation in the fourth, Minnesota maintained its pace and protected its double-digit lead, which resulted in Golden State throwing the white towel with four minutes still remaining in the game.
Although the Warriors’ bench mob was able to make things interesting in the last two minutes when they hosted a huge run, time wasn’t on their side anymore as most of their points in the final stretch came from garbage buckets that were uncontested.
It was a great first half for Golden State after Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga joined hands to provide the much-needed offensive punch in the absence of Stephen Curry who was still ruled out due to his hamstring injury.
Green was knocking down huge trey haymakers that answered every Minnesota basket, while Kuminga continued his stellar outing and relentlessly punished the Timberwolves’ frontcourt with his aggressive drives down the lane.
However, all their efforts were quickly deflected when the Timberwolves smoked them in the third. After Minnesota held a 17-point lead, Golden State failed to trim it to single digits until the bench players took over late in the fourth.
Randle spearheaded Minnesota’s Game 4 dub after leading all scorers with 31 points built from an efficient 11/21 shooting from the field.
Not known for his outside shooting, Randle made the most out of his open looks from downtown and ripped the net with four three-pointers. He also stuffed the stat sheets with five rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Meanwhile, Edwards dropped another 30-piece for the Timberwolves and came alive in the second half when Minnesota needed him the most. Shades of Game 3 instantly filled the arena after Edwards made up for his poor first-half shooting with a scoring avalanche in the final two quarters.
On the other hand, Kuminga was the only Golden State member who scored above 20 points with 23 markers. Jimmy Butler, who erupted for 33 during the last game, was limited to just 14 points in 34 minutes of playing time.
With Golden State now a loss away from exiting the playoffs, questions quickly surrounded their locker room as to whether Curry can come back and change the complexion of the series. However, no confirmation from Golden State’s medical staff was released if he is already fit to return in an actual game.
Can Curry return in Game 5 and help the Warriors live another day? Or will Edwards and the wolf pack roar their way to greatness and reach the Western Conference finals for the second straight time?
