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Posts tagged as “Minnesota”

Timberwolves routs Warriors to even series (117 – 93)

After an embarrassing Game 1, the Timberwolves delivered a commanding performance, securing a decisive 117-93 victory over the Warriors. It was the opposite of Game 1, where the Wolves started out strong and ended the first quarter with a 14-point lead.

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards went down with an ankle injury scare in the second quarter. However, much to the relief of Minnesota fans, Edwards returned after halftime and showed no signs of discomfort, finishing the game with a solid 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with an impressive 24 points and 11 assists, and grabbed 7 rebounds. The Timberwolves displayed a balanced offensive effort and a stifling defense that limited the Warriors.

Without Curry, the Warriors were searching for a way to generate points. Seldom-used Jonathan Kuminga led Golden State with 18 points off the bench. Jimmy Butler was a non-factor in the game even with his 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Warriors also used all 14 available players in the first half, a sign that Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr was looking for ways to offset the absence of their leading scorer.

Adding to the drama, Draymond Green received his fifth technical foul of the playoffs, putting him in danger of a suspension if he gets two more. Despite a brief moment in the third quarter when the Warriors cut the lead to seven, the Timberwolves responded by going on an 11-0 run to regain control and put the game away for good.

With the series now tied 1-1, the series will head to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday. The Timberwolves will try to regain their home-court advantage, while the Warriors will need to find solutions to compensate for Curry’s absence as the series continues.

Warriors steals Game 1 from Timberwolves while on the road (99 – 88)

The Golden State Warriors drew first blood in their playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, securing a hard-fought 99-88 victory on the Timberwolves’ home court in Game 1. However, the victory was overshadowed by an injury to their superstar guard, Stephen Curry. ย 

Curry went down with a left hamstring strain early in the second quarter and did not return to the game. Before his exit, Curry had scored 13 points in 13 minutes, looking sharp and setting the tone for the Warriors’ offense. The incident occurred after he hit a floater, following which he was seen grabbing at the back of his left leg. He immediately signaled to the bench and headed to the locker room. ย 

Despite losing their “best player”, the Warriors rallied and displayed their championship pedigree. After a close game in the 1st quarter, they managed build a 13 points lead to end the first half. Thanks to the hot shooting of Draymond Green, Buddy Hield and hustle plays of Jimmy Butler, the Warriors are able to create a 20-point separation to end the 3rd qtr.

Draymond Green had a strong all-around game with 18 points (including four three-pointers), 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Buddy Hield led the Warriors in scoring with 24 points and also pulled down 8 rebounds. Jimmy Butler was close to a triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr provided an update after the game, stating that Curry is considered day-to-day with the hamstring strain and will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury. However, Kerr also indicated that the team is “definitely game-planning for him to not be available on Thursday” for Game 2, acknowledging that it’s “hard to imagine that he would play Thursday” with a hamstring issue. ย 

The Warriors’ ability to secure this road win despite Curry’s injury provides them with a significant advantage as the series progresses. It buys them some time and reduces the pressure to rush Curry back onto the court before he is fully healthy. However, the extent of Curry’s injury and the potential duration of his absence will be a major topic as the Western Conference semifinals continue. ย 

For the Timberwolves, dropping Game 1 at home while the Warriors missing the services of Curry is a missed opportunity. It will be a hard Game 2, even though there’s a chance that Curry will be sidelined for a game or two.

Timberwolves will need to make significant adjustments and find ways to generate more consistent offense, especially after a slow start where they missed all 15 of their first-half three-point attempts. Anthony Edwards, though late in the game, eventually found his rhythm in the second half, finishing with 23 points, but the team’s shooting slumped cost them the game.

Naz Reid had 19 points and Julius Randle added 16 points for the Wolves, who finished 5 for 29 from behind the arc and trailed by 23 points late in the third. While Rudy Gobert, the hero of Game 4 against the Lakers, just scored 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday in Minnesota, and all eyes will be on the Warriors as fans awaits the update regarding Stephen Curry’s status and how both teams adapt their strategies accordingly.

Warriors beat Timberwolves behind Stephen Curry’s 30-point Game

The Golden State Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-106, behind Steph Curry’s 30 points, making 5 three-points, and 8 assists. Buddy Heild and Jonathan Kuminga added, 27 and 20 points, respectively.

After building an 11-point lead in the 4th qtr, Timberwolves made an 15 to 3 run to take a 1-point lead with 4:47 remaining in the game. But Curry assisted Jonathan Kuminga for a go-ahead dunk with 2:55 remaining. After making 2 free throws, Curry found Buddy Hield for a corner-three, creating a 6-point lead with 57.1 remaining.

Despite scoring only 6 points, Draymond Green, made a highlight-reel play, by driving past Rudy Gobert for a thunderous dunk, then followed it up with Curry’s signature “NIGHT NIGHT!” celebration. Green also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 7 assists.

Anthony Edwards lead the Timberwolves with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, but only made 2 points in the 4th qtr. Julius Randle added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Mike Conley scored 12 points.

The Warriors will visit the Rockets Wednesday night for the NBA Cup quarterfinals, while the Timberwolves will hosts the Lakers this Friday.

Los Angeles Lakers takes wins 1st game of the season against Minnesota Timberwolves (110 – 103)

It’s a historic night for the LA Lakers as they win their first game of the season.

First, there was Lebron and Bronny James, as the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.

Then a dominant performance from Anthony Davis who scored a game high 36 points, 16 rebounds with 4 assists, a steal and 3 blocks. Followed by Rui Hachimura’s 18 points, 5 rebounds, an assist and 2 blocks. Lebron James added 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. As a team, the Lakers shot 44.2% from the field and even though they shot poorly from the 3-point line (5 of 30), the Lakers manage to build a 19 point lead to help them secure the win.

This is the first game that the Minnesota Timberwolves is playing without Karl-Anthony Towns and it shows, the team had a total of 16 turnovers versus 7 TO of the Lakers, then there’s 77 points-in-paint that they allowed. Anthony Edwards lead the Timberwolves with 27 points and 6 rebounds. Julius Randle and Donte Divincenzo scored a 16 points and 10 points, respectively.

Timberwolves will go to Sacramento on Thursday, while the Lakers will host Suns on Friday, 25th of October.

Here are some AD highlights;

New York Liberty defeats Minnesota Lynx in OT to win their first WNBA Championship (67 – 62)

New York Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx in a classic Game 5 OT to take home the franchise first WNBA Championship. It was a low scoring ballgame, which is understandable, since both team have a defensive mindset right out of the gate. By the end of regulation, both team only managed to score 60 points, compare to the last 4 games, where the winning team scores at least 80 points.

Breanna Stewart has a chance to tie the game but misses both of the free throw with 38 secs remaining in regulation but Minnesota Lynx failed to capitalize on the possession and gave Breanna Stewart another chance to redeem herself by sinking bother of her free throw to tie and send the game to over time. Then in OT, Liberty took over by limiting Lynx to just 2 points while scoring 7 points; a 23-footer three point jumper by Leonie Fiebich, a two point lay-up by Nyara Sabally of a steal and a 2-for-2 free throw by Breanna Stewart to seal the game.

Like in the previous game, Minnesota Lynx was able to limit New York Liberty’s stars; Breanna Stewart just scored 13 points but was a monster on the boards, grabbing a game high 15 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu just scored 5 points but impacted the game by keeping her teammates involved in the game by dishing 8 assists with 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Jonquel Jones, who won the WNBA Finals MVP, scored a team high 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

Prior to the 2024 WNBA season, NY Liberty is one of the eight original franchises of the league that has yet to win a championship and the team have been in the WNBA Finals 5 times before winning it all this year.

Minnesota Lynx forces a “Winner-Takes-All” Game 5 of WNBA Finals behind Bridget Carleton Free Throws (82 – 80)

WNBA;

Bridget Carleton made two free throws with 2 seconds left, and the Lynx beat the New York Liberty 82-80 on Friday night. The teams will meet Sunday night in New York in the first Game 5 of the Finals since 2019, when Washington topped Connecticut.

All of Minnesota Lynx starting five scored in double-digits; Kayla Mcbride, lead the team with 19 points, Courtney Williams added 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Napheesa Collier chipped-in 14 points and 9 rebounds with 4 assists and 4 steals. Both Alanna Smith and Bridget Carleton scored 12 points apiece but it was Carleton final free throw that sealed the game for the Lynx.

It was a close game and the largest of any team is just 6 points and there have been 14 lead changes and 13 ties.

Lynx was able to contain Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina to a combined 21 points, and limit their impact to the game. Lynx appeared happy to just let other Liberty players score particularly Jonquel Jones, who scored a game-high 21 points and 8 rebounds.

Game 5 of the WNBA Finals will this Sunday, October 20, 2024 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Here’s the high-lights of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.

NY Liberty takes Game 3 behind Sabrina Ionescu’s step-back 3 with 1 sec left (80 – 77)

If Minnesota Lynx stole Game 1 from the New York Liberty, it appears that NY Liberty did the same to the Lynx by stealing Game 3 of the WNBA Finals behind Sabrina Ionescu’s step-back 3 dagger. Liberty came back down-15 in the first qtr and crawl their way back for more than three qtr.

But before Sabrina Ionescu heroics took place, it was Breanna Stewart to anchored Liberty’s comeback scoring 30 points, 11 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich added 13 points a piece. Sabrina Ionescu ended the game with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, before burying the Lynx with that dagger three, Ionescu was 2-7 from behind the line.

Before the game, WNBA named Sabrina Ionescu as part of the All-WNBA second team.

Four Minnesota Lynx players scored double-digits point; Napheesa Collier lead the Lynx with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals. Bridget Carleton scored 14 points, Kayla Mcbride added 19 points and Courtney Williams, the hero of Game 1, contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists.

Game 4 will be this Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024 at the Target Center Minneapolis. NY Liberty will have a chance to wrap-up the finals for the franchise’s first WNBA Championship.

New York Liberty evens the series behind Stewart and Laney-Hamilton (80 – 66)

Doug Feinberg – AP Basketball Writer via WNBA;

Breanna Stewart wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.

With the Minnesota Lynx making another fourth quarter run, the two-time league MVP refused to let the New York Liberty lose again.

Stewart scored 21 points and had a WNBA Finals record seven steals to help the Liberty beat the Lynx 80-66 on Sunday in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

Just like Game 1, New York built a double-digit lead in the first half, only to see it evaporate. This time they didnโ€™t completely collapse, holding on to even the series 1-1 as it shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Wednesday night.

New York Liberty made sure that Minnesota Lynx won’t be stealing this game, even after the Lynx erasing the Liberty’s 9-point lead early in the 4th qtr, to just 2 points. But from the 3:40 mark in the final qtr the New York Liberty went on a 12 to nothing run to build a 14-point cushion to end the game.

There are four Liberty players who scored double-digits points, you have the regulars like Breanna Stewart who lead the team in almost every category, she had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals and 1 block. Sabrina Ionescu, because of the “Caitlin Clark” treatment that she received, was not able to score in the 2nd half but was a big contributor in the first half. She added 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Then you also have the towering Jonquel Jones who was also a monster on the boards and got some timely tip in to help secure the W for the Liberty. Jones scored 14 points, a game-high 9 rebounds and 2 steals. Then there’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who was the unlikely-hero of the team by draining 4 pressure packed three-pointers, she end up with 20-points with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

The next two games of the WNBA Finals will be hosted by the Minnesota Lynx. Game 3 will be this Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024 at the Target Center Minneapolis.

Minnesota Lynx stole Game 1 of the WNBA Finals from the the top-seeded New York Liberty in OT (95-93)

ESPN;

The Lynx, who trailed by as many as 18 points, are the first team in WNBA postseason history to win a game after trailing by 15-plus points in the final 5 minutes of regulation.

Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals will forever be a classic. This was a game that New York Liberty should have won, or must win. Since this is just a best of 5 series, one win could swing the whole series and this is a great start for the Lynx.

Three Lynx players scored 20-plus points; Courtney Williams, who went berserk in the 4th quarter and made a 4-point play in the last 5.5 seconds left in regulation, scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Napheesa Collier finished the game with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 steals. Kyla McBride added 22 points and 4 rebounds.

Game 2 will still be at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY this Sunday, Oct 13, 2024.

Minnesota Lynx eliminate the Connecticut Sun to advance to the 2024 WNBA Finals (88-77)

via ESPN;

Collier had 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 11 rebounds and Courtney Williams contributed 24 points and both-ends-of-the-court energy to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the Connecticut Sun 88-77 and into the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years on Tuesday night.

Collier, the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, added four blocks in a vintage all-around performance.

They will face the NY Liberty who eliminated the defending champs, the LV Aces, two days ago.

Game 1 of the WNBA Finals is scheduled this Thursday, October 10, 2024, and will be hosted by the NY Liberty in Barclays Center.

KAT to Knicks trade now Official

That Karl-Anthony Towns 3-team trade to the Knicks is now official. NBA wrote “Karl-Anthony Towns joined the Knicks on Wednesday after the Minnesota Timberwolves sent their four-time All-Star to New York in a three-team trade that also included the Charlotte Hornets.”

Here’s the details of the trade;

Knicks receive:ย 

  • Karl-Anthony Towns (via Timberwolves)
  • Draft rights to James Nnaji (via Hornets)

Timberwolves receive:

  • Julius Randle (via Knicks)
  • Donte DiVincenzo (via Knicks)
  • Keita Bates-Diop (via Knicks)
  • Future first-round pick (from Knicks via Pistons)

Hornets receive:

  • Charlie Brown (via Knicks)
  • DaQuan Jeffries (via Knicks)
  • Duane Washington Jr. (via Knicks)
  • 2 future second-round picks (via Knicks)
  • 2025 second-round pick (via Timberwolves)
  • Cash considerations

KAT also posted a farewell message, embedded above, to the Timberwolves organization and the Minnesota fans, where he played since 2016 and won Rookie of the Year awards, All-Rookie 1st Team and All-NBA 3rd Team (twice).

Reports: Knicks acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns in 3-team deal   

Dave Campbell & Tim Reynolds | The Associated Press via NBA;

Per Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, New York is adding All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, sending back All-Star forward Julius Randle to the Timberwolves, along with guard Donte DiVincenzo and a protected first-round pick (via Detroit).

The Hornets soon emerged as a reportedly crucial third team in the deal, taking on DaQuan Jeffries and draft compensation to help facilitate considering the cap implications that come into play with a pair of โ€œapronโ€ teams.

A blockbuster trade but it appears that this is more on the salary cap situation of than anything else.

Connecticut Sun sweeps Indiana Fever, will face Minnesota Lynx in the 2024 WNBA Semifinals (87 – 81)   

ESPN;

Alyssa Thomas and the Connecticut Sun were happy to finally close out an opening round series at home in two games.

Thomas had 19 points and 13 assists to help the Sun sweep Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever out of the playoffs with an 87-81 win Wednesday night.

Compared to Game 1, Indiana’s “Big 3” played a much better game; Caitlin Clark scored 25 points and 9 assists, Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 19 rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell added had 17 points but committed 5 turnovers. But it was Sun’s veteran players who carried the team with five players scoring in double digits points.

Connecticut Sun will now face Minnesota Lynx, who swept the Phoenix Mercury, this Sunday, September 29, 2024 at the Target Center, Minneapolis.

Napheesa Collier’s 26 points powers Minnesota Lynx win over Indiana Fever (99 – 88)   

ESPN WNBA;

Napheesa Collier scored nine of her 26 points in the third quarter, Bridget Carleton made three 3-pointers in the final four minutes and the Minnesota Lynx overcame a 25-point night by Caitlin Clark to snap Indiana’s five-game winning streak with a 99-88 win over the Fever on Friday night.

The Indiana Fever are 7 – 3 in their last 10 games, two of those loses are from Minnesota Lynx. This may very well be a playoff preview between Minnesota Lynx (2nd) and Indiana Fever (6th), that is if the Fever are able to go deep in the post season.

Fever’s “Big Three” had a huge game but not enough to get the win.

Caitlin Clark scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and Aliyah Boston scored 20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, while Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points.

It’s the Conference Finals of the NBA 2024

It’s the semifinals of the NBA 2024 and it comes down to just 4 teams; the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves for the Western Conference, as for the East Conf. we have the Boston Celtics and the Indian Pacers.

Minnesota and Indiana advanced to the Conf. Finals after a grueling Game 7. Dallas needed 6 games to advanced, while Boston just took care of the business in just 5 games and have been waiting on the sideline.

  • Game 1 of the WCF between Minnesota and Dallas will be this Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 3:00 AM (Saudi time)
  • Game 1 of the ECF between Boston and Indiana will be on Thursday, May 23, 2024 3:30 AM (Saudi time)