Anthony Edwards scores 28 of his 36 points in the 2nd half, and Minnesota subdues Golden State in 4th quarter to win Game 3.
It’s hard enough to win an NBA playoff game with your best player, the focal point of your offense for about a decade, sitting on the bench in street clothes.
It’s even more difficult when you lose your best defensive player to disqualification-by-fouls down the stretch and have your most effective scoring weapon go missing for 24 of the game’s 48 minutes.
The Golden State Warriors played again without Steph Curry (left hamstring strain), lost center Draymond Green late and couldn’t hit a single 3-point shot in the first half. Yet they hung with the Minnesota Timberwolves, found some flow with Jimmy Butler and reserve Jonathan Kuminga, and even led, 82-77, with less than eight minutes to go.
The Wolves roared past them, however, with late-game execution, a late-arriving Anthony Edwards and solid defense and rebounding. They outscored the home team 25-15 the rest of the way to flip the final margin, 102-87. Here are five takeaways that left Minnesota up 2-1 heading into Game 4 Monday (10 ET, ESPN) in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series:
1. Randle has been Wolves’ key guy
When you do something – post a triple-double – that no one in franchise playoff history had done since Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett 21 years ago, you are excelling. Julius Randle, the veteran forward who joined Minnesota on the brink of training camp in the surprising Karl-Anthony Towns trade, finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. It was his second consecutive game with 20 and 10, a Wolves first.
There’s no need to judge the trade here; Towns and Randle both have had their moments this season and both helped their teams reach the conference semis. Randle, though, never has been more valuable than he is right now. His abilities to initiate offense, find teammates, defend, rebound and attack the rim unlocked Edwards in the second half.
“It’s really what turned our season around was his playmaking,” coach Chris Finch said. “He gives us almost another point guard out there. … It’s everything for us, it’s been everything for our turnaround, and it’s everything for our team.”
Randle, 30, missed all of February with a groin strain. Since returning, he and the Wolves have gone 24-5, including eight playoff games so far. He has been their most consistent player, averaging 22.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists and shooting 47.7% in by far the best postseason of his three career appearances.
2. An Ant of two halves
The game lasted long enough for Edwards to go from cocoon to avenging butterfly. He scored 28 of his 36 points in the second half, 13 in the final quarter, and produced the night’s most explosive highlight, blowing by one Warriors defender on the left wing and over a second for a seismic throwdown late in the third quarter.
ANTHONY EDWARDS THROWDOWN!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/9uzZt5H885
— NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2025
That and the fourth overshadowed his sputtering work in the first half (3-for-12, 1-for-6 on 3s, eight points). In the series, Edwards in first halves has totaled 16 points on 5-for-27 shooting. In second halves, he’s 69 points, 23-for-36.
3. Just ‘Playoff Jim’ in this one
“Playoff Jim” rather than “Playoff Jimmy?” Yes, because Butler didn’t quite finish what he started. Most everyone inside or outside the arena expected Golden State’s veteran forward to impose his will on Game 3, playing at home, circumstances serious if not yet dire.
And sure enough, he did, taking as many shots (13) and scoring more points (18) by halftime than he had in all of Game 2. He was assertive as a scorer, rather than sidling up to the game in his usual style, and he got into the lane seemingly any time he wanted for short jumper or layups.
One play in particular demonstrated his focus: Early in the third, isolated with the ball against the cat-quick Edwards, Butler faked, spun and left the Wolves defender flat-footed for a bucket.
THIS JIMMY SPIN & LAY 🔥🔥
He's got 22 as the Warriors lead by 3 in Game 3 on ABC! pic.twitter.com/JN7ujSv3Lh
— NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2025
Problem was, Butler seemed to run out of gas. On his way to 43 minutes, he missed several shots late, shot 1-for-7 in the fourth and didn’t score at all in the final 8:16.
4. Warriors rarity: Zero 3s in a half
Imagine showing up to a Rolling Stones concert only to see Keith and Ronnie go unplugged, all acoustic. The Warriors, the franchise that exploited the 3-point shot so completely that the rest of the league copycatted them, took only five in the first half. And didn’t hit a one.
That was the fewest 3-point attempts by any team this season and the first time Golden State had zero by halftime since Jan. 6, 2020, 476 games ago. It was the result of multiple factors: No Curry, a grinding pace and their reliance on Butler closer in.
The Warriors got closer to normal in the second half, hitting 10-for-18, but their total of 23 was by far their fewest in 92 games of 2024-25 (28 vs. Houston on Dec. 5).
5. Circle gets the square?
This is a basketball series spread across 10-14 days, but in a funny way, it feels a little like a game of tic-tac-toe. Played on a clock rather than a calendar.
The reason? Curry’s hamstring strain is healing at its own pace, independent of the NBA schedule. It’s a bit of a race, with a timeline that has gone like this: Curry gets hurt in the second quarter of the opener. The Warriors manage to win anyway and put down an X. Then Minnesota takes Game 2 at Target Center Thursday to scribble down an O.
So in Game 3 Saturday night in San Francisco, the Timberwolves win again and fill another box with O. Golden State’s hope now is to fill in another X, ideally the next two to prolong the series, on the chance Curry – due to be re-evaluated Tuesday after Game 4 – heals enough to play again.
First one to line up four wins, of course.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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