That got the Wolves going as everyone looked to make the extra pass. They passed around the Warriors zone and buried their final four three-point attempts of the second quarter. Mike Conley scored eight of their final 13 points of the second quarter to give the Wolves a 62-47 halftime lead that was built on 20 assists.
The lead grew to as much as 25 points late in the third quarter before Golden State pushed back, gaining ground as the Wolves kept fouling up fast breaks with turnovers. But the Wolves maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the game.
While the Wolves committed those 20 turnovers, they set a franchise postseason record with 36 assists. Edwards’ 12 assists are his playoff career high. Conley had eight. Julius Randle had five. Donte DiVincenzo had six.
Making the extra pass aided in the Wolves shooting 62.8 percent from the field. They made nine of their final 17 three-point shots. Take that into the next round, please.
“I thought the ball movement was great,” Finch said. “I thought the spacing was great. When you play a team in a series, you start to figure some things out, hopefully. These guys did a good job of figuring out the zone and all the changing people.”
In the fourth quarter, fans could focus more on winning a free chicken sandwich if Golden State missed free throws than sweating out a close game. With 51.4 seconds remaining, they erupted with cheers when Wolves nemesis Draymond Green was removed from the game. The celebration was on.