Anthony Edwards had beaten the half-time buzzer with a deep three, igniting his 30-point night. The Minnesota Timberwolves responded by outscoring the Golden State Warriors 39-17 in the third quarter, and Steve Kerr began to pull his starters with the Wolves leading 105-87 with 6:53 left.
Still, Golden State’s reserves made it a seven-point game, 117-110.
“It felt like we started playing down to the competition,” Jaden McDaniels admitted after the game. “I mean, you can’t do that. They almost came back. If there was more time, they probably could have put their starters back in and made a run.”
The Timberwolves have started putting it together at the right time. They have eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers and are pushing the Warriors to the brink. Edwards has stopped playing hero ball and is trusting his teammates. Julius Randle has been the secondary scorer Minnesota needs, and McDaniels is locking down Jimmy Butler while providing tertiary scoring.
However, the Wolves still have one more demon left to conquer.
Complacency.
Chris Finch said Edwards spoke up in the locker room when the Wolves were down 60-58 at halftime. “He was one of the guys [who] was most vocal at halftime,” Finch said. “[He] realized what was going on out there, and we needed to be better. It started with him, really, and setting the tone.”
“I told them we only got two wins,” said Edwards. “I’ve never seen a series end 2-1.
“I told them we have to get two more wins, and right now we playing like we already got four wins. Like, we playing like they going to lay down. Knowing [the Warriors], knowing their head coach, they are never going to lay down. We had to figure it out because if we would have kept playing like that, we would have lost tonight.”
The Wolves are playing Golden State without Stephen Curry, and they scored only 14 points on nine shots in Game 4. Still, Edwards is right. If they kept playing the way they had, the Timberwolves would be heading back to Minnesota tied 2-2.
Teams that win Game 5 in a 2-2 series advance 80% of the time. The Warriors could have stolen Game 5 and gotten Curry back for Game 6. The Wolves would allow Golden State to build momentum in a series they controlled.
“At halftime, coach came in and just said we playing like we already won the series, pretty much, and I don’t really like that,” said Edwards. “I didn’t like how we were playing overall, and I didn’t like how I was playing individually. I know I had to pick it up.”
The Wolves are close to advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year. They are playing better than a six-seed because they aren’t one. They’re a top-three seed that played down to their competition this season.
Minnesota swept the Denver Nuggets and L.A. Clippers, and split with the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-2. However, the Wolves also lost games to the San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards. The Milwaukee Bucks beat them without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. In a packed Western Conference, that’s the difference between the two-seed and barely avoiding the play-in.
Complacency is the final demon Minnesota must conquer. It’s easy to think ahead. Oklahoma City and Denver are in a closely-contested series. They could wear themselves out before they face the Wolves. Then, Minnesota could play Karl-Anthony Towns, Tom Thibodeau, and the New York Knicks, or the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers in the Finals.
Still, the Wolves shouldn’t get ahead of themselves. They’ve been their own worst enemy this year. However, they’ve rid themselves of their worst habits in the postseason. Staving off complacency is their final battle.