In Step. In Sync. Into the West Finals.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 15, 2025
Wolves Advance: Ant & Randle lead Minny past Golden State to reach WCF
Ant’s Ascent: How the Wolves’ superstar has elevated his game – and a franchise
Celtics Respond: Boston flexes its championship DNA to avoid elimination
Thunder-Nuggets: Can SGA & OKC close out Jokić & Denver tonight in Mile High?
Road Trip: Taking stock of a historically wild Playoffs
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Yesterday’s scores and tonight’s standalone game…
Game 6 In Denver: Tonight, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder carry a 3-2 series lead into Ball Arena, where Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets’ season hangs in the balance (8:30 ET, ESPN).
Today’s Reads: WSJ on how Alex Caruso blossomed into one of the league’s top defenders … AP on how Cooper Flagg’s journey from a small town in Maine.
1. WOLVES TOP WARRIORS TO RETURN TO WEST FINALS
For the first time since the 2019 Warriors, a team is back to the West Finals for the second straight year.
Wolves 121, Warriors 110: Anthony Edwards (22 pts, 7 reb, 12 ast, 3 blk) and Julius Randle (29 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast) put on a clinic, as the Wolves built a 25-point 3rd-quarter lead and held on to oust Golden State, returning to the West Finals with a 4-1 series victory. | Recap
- Inside Distribution: With Randle and Rudy Gobert (17 pts, 8 reb) owning the paint, Edwards picked apart the defense — dishing out six dimes in each half for a Playoff career-high
- Closing Time: After Minny’s 25-point lead shrank to nine in the 4th, Ant took matters into his own hands, burying a momentum-killing 3 to push the lead back to double digits – where it stayed for good
2nd-Half Star: Edwards scored 16 in the 2nd half to eclipse 1,000 career Playoff points, becoming just the sixth player to reach the milestone before turning 24.
- His Company? Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum
- Right On Time: Edwards has made a habit of 2nd-half takeovers, as 63.4% of his Playoff points (168 of 265) and 72.5% of his points this series (95 of 131) have come after halftime
- Ant & His Idol: Now, he’s the second-youngest player since 1971 to lead his team in total Playoff scoring in back-to-back Conference Finals runs – trailing only KD
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Dubs’ Fight: With Steph Curry out for a fourth straight game (hamstring), Brandin Podziemski scored a Playoff career-high 28 points for the Warriors, who refused to go out quietly, but had no answers for Minnesota’s balanced attack.
- Feasting: Led by Randle (13-18 FG) and Gobert (8-9 FG), the Wolves shot 36-of-47 on 2s (76.6%) and tallied 36 assists compared to Golden State’s 21
- Everybody Eats: Mike Conley (16), Jaden McDaniels (14) and Donte DiVincenzo (13) rounded out six Wolves in double figures
- “The most together team and the most mature team is the team that wins around this time,” said Edwards postgame. “It’s not about who gets 30 points, who gets the most shots … it’s about coming together.”
What’s Next: The Wolves await the winner of the Thunder-Nuggets series (OKC leads 3-2) and will open the West Finals on the road.
2. ANT’S ASCENT: THE LEADER OF THE PACK
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Entering the 2023-24 campaign, the Wolves had made just one trip to the West Finals in their first 34 seasons.
Now, they’re headed back for the second straight year — and third time ever — with their 23-year-old superstar leading the charge.
- “He’s the brightest star in the world,” said Randle on Edwards. “Anywhere he goes, all eyes are on him and it’s no different on the court … What he does every night for our team is special.”
As a rookie in 2020-21, Edwards averaged 19.3 points, 2.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game as Minnesota went 23-49.
Since then, both his game – and the franchise – have leveled up year after year.
- In 2021-22, Ant increased his numbers across the board, helping Minnesota reach just its second Playoff appearance since 2004-05
- In 2022-23, he upped his numbers again, guiding the Wolves back to the Playoffs while receiving his first All-Star nod
- In 2023-24, he posted career-highs in points (25.9) and assists (5.1), made Second Team All-NBA and powered Minnesota to its first West Finals in two decades
This season, the electrifying guard who owns a 30-minute highlight reel of strictly dunks added another dimension to his game, leading the league in 3s while averaging yet another career-high in points (27.6).
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Now, Ant and the Wolves are back in the same spot where they fell last season – looking for four more wins to reach their first Finals in franchise history.
But this year’s team looks different. Minnesota moved on from longtime cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns and retooled around Edwards, pairing him with Randle while bolstering the backcourt with Donte DiVincenzo.
And after a slow start, the Wolves are peaking at the right time.
- Turning Point: After opening the season at 14-14, the Wolves earned a Christmas Day win over Dallas – the same team that ended their season last spring
- Fast Finish: Then, everything clicked, as Minny closed the regular season with a 35-19 record before knocking off both the Lakers and Warriors in five games
- But They’re Still Hungry: “There’s no satisfaction” said Edwards on the team’s return to the WCF. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
3. CELTICS AVOID ELIMINATION WITH RESOUNDING WIN, FORCE GAME 6
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No Jayson Tatum. No momentum. No margin for error.
Facing elimination for the first time in nearly two years, the Celtics could have flinched. Instead, the champs fought – and caught fire to save their season.
Celtics 127, Knicks 102: Derrick White (34 pts, 7 3s) and Jaylen Brown (26 pts, 12 ast) combined for 60 points, while Luke Kornet added 10 points, 9 boards and 7 blocks as the C’s outpaced the Knicks to cut their series deficit to 3-2, forcing a Game 6 in New York. | Recap
- White Hot: White came out scorching, hitting four 3s in the first seven minutes. By night’s end, he had his fourth career game of 7+ triples – trailing only Ray Allen (5x) for the most in Celtics history
- JB Does It All: Brown’s 12 dimes were a career-high, and he added eight boards, three 3s and hustle plays like this to secure the win
- Core Comes Through: Payton Pritchard (17), Jrue Holiday (14) and Al Horford (12) all finished in double figures while hitting multiple 3s, as the C’s splashed 22 as a team
- “It’s just who they are as people,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla on his team’s response. “They’ve seen a lot. You just rely on the character of the guys and the togetherness.”
With its back against the wall, Boston received championship-caliber contributions across the board. But it was one man – and syllable – that stole the show:
“Luuuuuuuke.”
The X-Factor: After logging a Playoff-low eight minutes in Game 4, Kornet made his mark on Wednesday, turning a tie game at the half into a Celtics’ storm.
- Block Party: Kornet entered the night with just five blocks all Playoffs. In the 3rd quarter alone, he matched that total – fueling a 32-17 run as the C’s took control and never looked back
- “He is a one-man wrecking crew”: In the 4th, Kornet kept feasting, tallying his seventh swat of the game for a career-high and a Celtics’ franchise record for blocks in an elimination game
- The Finishing Touch? A reverse jam off a lob on the ensuing possession, sending TD Garden into a frenzy to stamp a 5-of-5 night from the floor and performance that was one-of-one
- “Luke was huge tonight,” said Brown postgame. “Defensively and offensively, he was stellar. That’s the type of performances we need in the Playoffs.”
What’s Next: Josh Hart (24 pts, 5 3s) and Jalen Brunson (22 pts, 6 ast) led the way for New York, but Brunson fouled out with 7:19 left as the Celtics outscored the Knicks 68-43 in the 2nd half, setting the stage for Game 6 on Friday at MSG (8 ET, ESPN).
4. THUNDER EYE WEST FINALS BERTH TONIGHT IN DENVER
The Thunder played in a league-low 24 clutch games in the regular season. While winning 66% of those, they registered the best point differential in NBA history.
Just nine games into the postseason, Oklahoma City has already been caught in six clutch situations.
But the group hasn’t let inexperience define it. Rather, it seized those opportunities.
Tonight (8:30 ET, ESPN), a West Finals berth is on the line for the Thunder with their visit to Ball Arena for Game 6 against the Nuggets. They weathered Denver’s largest lead all series on Tuesday and improved to 4-2 in clutch games throughout these Playoffs.
- SGA: “The answer is never a hero play or anything out of the ordinary. It’s trusting each other… it’s being who we are.”
OKC’s defensive identity entrenched itself during the regular season – earning the Association’s No. 1 defensive rating – again came to pass when the going got tough.
- Slim Pickings: Outside of Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets got one bucket in a 4th quarter where they were held to 5-for-21 shooting and went seven minutes without a field goal
- Lock ‘Em Up: On top of that, OKC has now limited foes to five or less field goals in the 4th quarter on nine separate occasions – more than any other team
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Denver will try to join the 18.6% of teams that have recovered from 3-2 series deficits after a 2-2 tie. Ever since Jokić and Jamal Murray entered the fold, the team has succeeded more often than not in times like these.
- Digging Deep: The Nuggets are 9-5 in elimination games dating back to 2019 and have won both Game 6s they’ve appeared in during that span
- Joke’s On You: Jokić averaged 26 ppg, 12.6 rpg and 51.3 FG% across all 14 of those outings. And he just dropped 44 points in Game 5 on 17-for-25 shooting
- Key To Watch: A big night offensively from Aaron Gordon could make all the difference. The group is 5-0 this postseason when he drops 20+ points, but 1-6 otherwise
“We’ve played well, we’ve played with great effort [and] intention,” said Nuggets coach David Adelman. “If we continue to do that and the ball goes in, we’re going to have a great chance to get back here on Sunday.”
5. ROAD TRIP: INSIDE A POSTSEASON UNLIKE ANY OTHER
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No lead — or homecourt — has felt safe this postseason.
In the 2024-25 regular season, eight teams matched or exceeded their home record on the road – tied for the most in a single season in NBA history.
That road confidence hasn’t just carried into the Playoffs — it’s reached rare air. The 30 road wins (and counting) are the second-most through two rounds in NBA history (excluding the 2020 bubble).
- 1. 2014 – 34
- T2. 2021 – 30
- T2. 2025 – 30
- T3. 2005 – 28
- T3. 2019 – 28
For perspective, from 1984 (when the Playoffs expanded to 16 teams) to 2024, road teams won just 35.9% of Playoff games.
This year? They’re nearly even at 47.6%.
One Reason? Shotmaking. In this year’s Playoffs, road teams are actually shooting better from 3 than home teams – 35.9% to 34.6% entering Wednesday – drowning out the crowd to flip the typical home-court shooting edge.
And when the pressure mounts late, the visitors have been even sharper.
- In clutch time, road teams are shooting 45.8% from the field to the hosts’ 40.5%, outscoring them 8.8 to 7.9 on average
- The Result? Nail-biting victories, as 22 of this year’s 30 road Playoff wins have been decided by 10 points or fewer
And it’s not just quantity — it’s quality, as the visitors have been responsible for a slew of unforgettable finishes.
- Comebacks: Of the five 20-point rallies this Playoffs (the most in a single Playoffs in the play-by-play era), four have been pulled off by the road team
- Classics: That includes the Knicks’ two 20-point comebacks in Boston, the Thunder’s historic 29-point rally in Memphis and the Pacers’ 20-point turnaround in Cleveland – ending in Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winner with 1.1 seconds left
- Curveballs: In fact, the Pacers are just the seventh team since 1984 to go 3-0 on the road in a series against a No. 1 seed – and the first to do so before the Conference Finals
- Can’t-Miss Moments: With road teams matching their hosts step for step, this year’s Conference Semis have delivered unprecedented drama, with 19 games decided by 10 points or fewer – the most since 1977 (20)
