NBA: Celtics hold off Knicks, Wolves eliminate Warriors

The Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to the NBA Western Conference finals on Wednesday with an emphatic 121-110 win over the Golden State Warriors, which clinched the series 4-1. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics rebelled against elimination and defeated the New York Knicks 127-102 to bring the East Semifinals to 3-2.

Injured Stephen Curry, the Warriors' superstar, watched with resignation from the bench as his team bid farewell to the Playoffs, which they qualified for via the Play-In after turning their season around after the arrival of Jimmy Butler. The Warriors' new No. 2 unable to make an impact in the Playoffs against Minnesota in part because of physical problems he had been dealing with since the series against the Rockets.

The Timberwolves, with 29 points from Julius Randle, the star of the game, and 22 from Anthony Edwards, Minnesota's undisputed star, will play for the second consecutive year in the West Finals after their 2024 loss to the Dallas Mavericks (4-1).

Their opponent will emerge from the other semifinal between the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the latter currently with a 3-2 lead.

The Wolves, despite not facing Curry, proved against the Warriors that they are one of the fiercest teams in the NBA and one of the deepest teams in the Playoffs.

Boston stays alive

The defending champions, playing their first game since the serious injury to star Jayson Tatum, avoided saying goodbye to the season in front of their fans and will return to New York on Friday for Game 6.

The winner of this series will face the Indiana Pacers, who knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers, the best team in the conference in the regular season, in the East Finals.

With their team's backs against the wall, guard Derrick White (34 points) and forward Jaylen Brown (26 points and 12 assists) took the baton from Tatum in Boston's offense.

"We got contribution from everybody," Brown said before sending a message of support to his co-star Tatum. "That one's for JT. Get well, bro."

Tatum, a six-time All-Star, tore his right Achilles tendon in Monday's Game 4, a near-definitive blow to the Celtics' title-retention aspirations.

"Whatever it is that we have to go through, there's no bunch of people I'd rather do it with than the guys in that locker room," coach Joe Mazzulla said of the champions' reaction.

"They made enough plays to win, and they gave us another chance to play," he noted. "You never want to be without any of your players, especially one of your best ones. But regardless of who’s out, each guy steps up and plays a role."

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau lamented the lack of punch his team showed to seal their ticket to the East Finals, which they haven't played in since 2000.

"We didn’t play tough with the lead in the second quarter. Then we came out for the third quarter and didn’t play well. You can’t afford to do that," lamented the New York coach.