Time is slipping away from the Golden State Warriors and their star guard Steph Curry.
The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Warriors 117-110 in Game 4 on Monday, securing a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series.
Minnesota used a 39-17 third quarter, which included a 21-2 run, to take control of the game and the series. Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter, and Julius Randle continued his stellar playoff season with a game-high 31 points. Jaden McDaniels contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The Timberwolves are one victory from returning to the conference finals for the second consecutive season, and the odds are in their favor. Just 13 teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series, and teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-1 go on to win the series 95.6% of the time (280-13).
Game 5 is Wednesday in Minneapolis (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
Jonathan Kuminga scored 23 points off the bench, and Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green each had 14 points for the Warriors.
Curry missed his third consecutive game with a grade 1 left hamstring strain, and last week, the Warriors said Curry was scheduled for a re-evaluation in one week, which is Wednesday. There’s the possibility he’s cleared to play in Game 5, but even if he’s able to play then, will he be close enough to 100% to help extend the series?
Here are winners and losers from Game 4 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors:
Timberwolves-Warriors Game 4 winners
Anthony Edwards
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch challenged Edwards after Golden State’s Game 1 victory. Since then, Edwards has scored 20, 36 and 30 points and shot an efficient 48.4% in three consecutive Timberwolves victories.
In Game 4, he was 11-for-21 from the field and 6-for-11 on 3-pointers, and he also had five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Julius Randle
It was another strong performance from Randle who might be playing his best basketball for the Timberwolves since they acquired him in the offseason in the trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks.
Randle scored at least 20 points in four of the five games against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round and has scored at least 24 points in Minnesota’s three consecutive victories against Golden State including 31 points on 11-for-21 shooting Monday. He helped Minnesota stay close with 19 first-half points.
He’s averaging 24.3 points and shooting 35-for-72 from the field (48.6%) in this series.
Minnesota’s 3-point shooting
The Timberwolves were 16-for-34 on 3s, including 6-for-12 in the third quarter when they turned a 60-58 halftime deficit into a 99-77 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
Timberwolves-Warriors Game 4 losers
Golden State’s 3-point shooting
Curry’s 3-point shooting is noticeably absent, and it’s understood how much his shooting opens opportunities for others. Those 3s aren’t there with Curry sidelined. One of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league this season, the Warriors were just 8-for-27 from that range in Game 4.
They were better in Game 3 (10-for-23) but about the same in Game 2 (9-for-32).
Warriors’ third quarter
The third quarter turned out to be Golden State’s downfall. They were outscored by 22 points, putting up just 17 on 7-for-19 shooting and 0-for-6 on 3s. Golden State went six minutes without scoring.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
