Anthony Edwards spearheaded a decisive third-quarter surge, scoring 11 of his 30 points during a 17-0 run that broke a halftime tie and shifted momentum firmly in Minnesota's favor. Julius Randle complemented Edwards' performance by contributing 31 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Fast forward a few months, and Minnesota is headed back to the conference finals in no small part because of Randle, who continued the best stretch of basketball of his postseason -- and probably professional -- life with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting on Wednesday as the Wolves eliminated the Warriors in five games.

Timberwolves' power forward has finally emerged as a playoff force to complement superstar Anthony Edwards. 'I had a great mentor in Kobe Bryant,' he says.

Even without iconic sharpshooter Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors have managed to put up a heck of a fight against the Minnesota Timberwolves in their second-round playoff battle. But so far, Minnesota has had a somewhat unexpected card up its sleeve that has helped build its 2-1 series lead.

Aaron Gordon might be the gold standard of the "struggling leading man to role player" transformation right now. After never finding his place in Orlando, he has become Mr. Nugget in Denver by giving up the on-ball portion of his offensive game,