After falling to a 2-1 defeat in Game Three of their Western Conference semi-final duel against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors will go in search of parity in Tuesday's Game Four.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, will be aiming to take a 3-1 lead back to Minnesota, which would give them the opportunity to close things out in front of their fans.
Match preview
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After needing seven games to see off the Houston Rockets in round one, the Golden State Warriors kicked off their second round involvement against the Timberwolves with very limited rest, but that did not stop them from winning Game One on May 7.
Steph Curry lasted just nine minutes in the aforementioned match as he had to come off with an injury, and his absence has thrown a spanner in the works for Steve Kerr's men, who have since been beaten in games two and three.
With Curry not expected to be back in action until the next seven days at the earliest, the Warriors will need to level the series at 2-2 to ensure that there will be at least one more playoff game at the Chase Center where they could have their superstar back in action.
Despite 30-point performances from Jimmy Butler (33) and Jonathan Kuminga (30) last time out, the Warriors were unable to get the better of their opponents in a thrilling contest characterised by several ties and lead changes.
Having not lost three games on the bounce since December, Tuesday's hosts will need to keep that streak going with a much-needed win to avoid going 3-1 down, which has often proven to be an unassailable lead in playoff history.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves reached the conference finals last season before losing to the Dallas Mavericks, but after deciding to trade Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle, there were doubts over their ability to make another deep playoff run.
After getting past the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, Chris Finch's men are currently halfway through progressing to a second straight Western Conference finals appearance thanks to their 102-97 win over the Warriors on Sunday.
Off the back of a shambolic first half which yielded just eight points, Anthony Edwards turned on the style in the second half to take his tally up to 36 on 13-28 shooting and lead his side to a huge victory in San Francisco.
Picking up where he left off in the first round against his former team, Randle has continued to deliver the goods for the TWolves and recorded the highest-scoring triple-double in franchise history in Saturday's win with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Timberwolves have held opponents to less than 100 points in each of their last four outings to take their average for the playoffs to 98.9, and that level of defence has come in handy more often than not for teams with championship aspirations.
However, Tuesday's visitors still have some gears to find on the offensive end, with their playoff points per game so far (105.5) currently 8.8 down from their regular-season tally (114.3), the fourth-biggest drop-off of all remaining teams in the postseason.
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Team News
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Stephen Curry is nursing a hamstring problem and will not play any part for the Warriors here, although he could be back in action for Game Six should the series get that far.
Jonathan Kuminga became the youngest Warriors player to score 30 points off the bench in a playoff game last time out and could be rewarded with a starting berth.
Twenty-year-old guard Rob Dillingham is the only injury concern for the Timberwolves here due to an ankle issue which has kept him out of action since April 12.
Jaden McDaniels has continued his increased productivity for the away side since the playoffs started, with his 15-point outing earlier today taking his average to 16.3, 4.1 more than his regular-season output.
Golden State Warriors possible starting five:
Podziemski, Hield; Butler, Kuminga; Green
Minnesota Timberwolves possible starting five:
Conley, Edwards; McDaniels, Randle; Gobert
We say: Timberwolves to win by 8+ points
The Warriors are almost nearing the last-chance saloon to save their season, and the absence of Curry has dealt a huge blow to their title ambitions.
We can see the Timberwolves emerging victorious here to move within one win of playing for the conference title.
Adepoju Marvellous
