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There was pressure on the Minnesota Timberwolves to win Game 2 of their second-round matchup against the Golden State Warriors after they failed to take care of business in Game 1 despite seeing the Warriors' best player, Stephen Curry, have to exit the game early due to a hamstring injury. Julius Randle even decided to take accountability and said that he had to be better not just on the glass, but overall to try and give the Timberwolves their first win of the series.
And that's exactly what Randle did in Game 2. With Anthony Edwards not being at his best due to an injury scare, Randle took it upon himself to dominate in all facets of the game. He put up 24 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists on 10-17 shooting from the field to lead the Timberwolves to a 117-93 victory over the Warriors to even up the series at 1-1.
In so doing, Randle put up a stat line that no other Timberwolves player has done in the playoffs in over 20 years. According to StatMuse on X (formerly Twitter), Randle became the first player in franchise history since Kevin Garnett in 2004 to put up a 20/5/10 game.
It was back on May 27, 2004 when Garnett dropped 28 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists in a 92-85 defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. That was the Timberwolves' last playoff berth before they broke a lengthy drought in 2018, which, oddly enough, was current Warriors star Jimmy Butler's only full season in Minnesota.
Not too many have had opportunities to fill up the stat sheet for the Timberwolves in the playoffs since Garnett's time with the team, but now, Minnesota has made the playoffs for four consecutive seasons. And it looks like the odds to make it to a second consecutive Western Conference Finals are in their favor, especially if Randle continues to play the way he did in Game 2.
Julius Randle plays bully ball, leads Timberwolves to Game 2 win
The Timberwolves have such a huge size advantage over the Warriors that it behooves Julius Randle, among others, to try and dominate the paint. And this time, they managed to get on the interior plenty of times, collapsing the Dubs' defense and making them pay from beyond the arc after a historically bad past two games shooting the ball from deep.
Randle may not have the cleanest postseason track record, but he sure is proving his worth to the Timberwolves after their decision to acquire him as the centerpiece of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade was widely-panned.
