The Golden State Warriors took Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road, but it was all Timberwolves in the series after that. Minnesota rattled off four straight wins, and they are now moving on to the Western Conference Finals. The Timberwolves finished off the series on Wednesday night with a 121-110 victory. In the final minutes, Timberwolves fans knew that they were moving on, and they let the Warriors hear it.The Timberwolves were in control of Game 5 from start to finish. Golden State took an early 3-2 lead, but that was it. Once Minnesota took the lead after that, the Warriors were trailing for the entire game.
Golden State kept things pretty close throughout the first half, but they were never able to catch up to the Timberwolves. Minnesota took a couple of eight-point leads early in the second quarter, and the lead got more comfortable before halftime. The Timberwolves finished the second quarter strong, and they took a 62-47 lead into the locker room.
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The Warriors had no answer for the Timberwolves in the second half either. Things started to get out of hand in the third quarter as the Timberwolves led by as many as 25 points, but Golden State made things a little bit interesting in the fourth quarter.
Golden State found a way to get the lead back down to single digits, but they were never able to get it closer than nine. The Timberwolves closed out the game strong.
Stephen Curry went down with an injury in the Warriors’ Game 1 win, and he hasn’t played since. Golden State found a way to get it done in Game 1 without him for most of the contest, but they have looked completely different since then.
Now, the Warriors are done, and the Timberwolves are moving on. Minnesota will take on either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. OKC is up 3-2 in that series with a chance to advance with a Game 6 win tomorrow night.
