Wednesday 303 US professional basketball team Golden State Warriors vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Match time: 2025-05-15 09:30

Anthony Edwards knows that the Minnesota Timberwolves have a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night.

Edwards also knew that taking anything for granted is dangerous.

"You can't be too comfortable," Edwards said. "You can't be too comfortable in the NBA - especially in the playoffs." The Minnesota Timberwolves will strive to end the series with the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves led 3-1 in the seven-game four-win series, hoping to avoid returning to the West Coast again in Game 6. The Warriors won the first game of the series, but since Stephen Curry left the game with a hamstring injury in Game 1, the team has been in a much worse shape. Curry will miss his fourth straight game on Wednesday.

Warriors head coach Steve Cole admitted that Curry's absence had a big impact on the team. Several players, including sophomore guard Brandin Podzimski and veteran forward Draymond Green, have experienced shooting difficulties.

"Curry's injury changed the direction of the series, so everyone's shooting would be more difficult," Cole said. "Curry can help us break through defense and create offensive fluency. I think the end result is that everyone's shooting will be more difficult."

Jimmy Butler leads the Warriors with 21 points per game and 44.1% shooting percentage in this series, but he also faces challenges in finding open spaces on the court.

"Ideally, we could arrange more shots around him and pull a little bit more space," Cole said. "But Curry is out of the game, we can't do that much. Having said that, we'll look at the game video to see if we can give him some chances, and I'm sure he will do well in Game 5." The Timberwolves also emphasized the importance of the offense on Wednesday. First up is top scorer Edwards, who averaged 27.3 points per game in the series and Julius Randle, who averaged 24.3 points per game. Randall said everyone on the Timberwolves understands that their goal is to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season, and that's what it has to do with it. At the break in Game 4, Minnesota was two points behind, and Edwards encouraged his teammates to work harder in the second half.

"We cannot give up the opportunity in front of us easily," Randall said. "We have the opportunity to lead 3-1 at their home court. In the fifth game, we have the opportunity to end the game at our own home court. We have to seize these opportunities."

Edwards attracted the attention of the Warriors on the defensive end and won praise from Cole and others, but he said the Timberwolves advanced because of the contribution of each player.

"Those guys are like my brothers," Edwards said of his teammates. "Nothing is more fun than seeing them perform well at a high level, because it makes everyone happy."

"I can't wait to come here and take every opportunity and praise them. Because I know everyone wants to attribute honor to me, but I can't do it without them. They are MVPs every night, every night."