The Warriors are watching their title dream crumble right before their eyes. They headed into tonight’s Wolves clash, hoping to pull off a miraculous win on the road and force Game 6 in the Bay Area. Obviously, it was not going to be easy without their superstar Stephen Curry leading the charge. But Steve Kerr’s squad kept the competition alive, at least for the majority of the first half. Unfortunately, Julius Randle’s scoring outburst killed all the momentum they had generated early in the game.

As the Warriors closed the gap to eight points, Randle hit a deep three-pointer towards the closing minutes of the second quarter to extend the Wolves’ lead once again. Sure enough, he was hyped after making the tough shot and did a little celebratory dance as he backpedalled on defense. Meanwhile, Steph was visibly heartbroken, watching his team struggle from the sidelines. The camera immediately panned to him after Randle’s celebration, and Curry could be seen shaking his head in disappointment.

The Warriors missed 19 of their 24 shots outside the paint in the first half, a stat that exposed their overreliance on volume rather than efficiency from deep. It’s clear they’ve decided that a ball-control offense just won’t cut it against Minnesota’s suffocating half-court defense — hence the shift to a faster tempo.

But that strategy has its consequences. The Timberwolves are playing looser, feeding off the chaos, and starting to find their rhythm.

And the Warriors? They paid the price. Just a couple of plays later, Julius Randle bulldozed his way to another tough And-1 finish, stretching the lead even further. By halftime, Golden State trailed by 15 — with Randle leading all scorers with 15. And of course, Stephen Curry could do nothing but watch, still sidelined with the Grade 1 left hamstring strain he suffered in Game 1.

Per Steve Kerr, “it’s a possibility he could play in Game 6.” That will only be possible if the Warriors win tonight and extend this series. But considering the way Randle played in the first half and the Bay Area team’s massive deficit, it is highly likely that their season comes to an end tonight and Steph never gets a chance to suit up. All credit to Julius’ scoring outburst.

Chris Finch and Anthony Edwards highlight Julius Randle’s impact as he takes over against Warriors

Well, Randle taking over in tonight’s Game 5 is no fluke. If you have been following these playoffs closely, he has played a pivotal role in the Wolves’ success since the very beginning. In the first round Lakers series, the forward averaged 22.6 points against his former team. Those numbers have only gone up in the Warriors series. Randle has averaged 24.2 points and eight assists in the last four games. And he is putting on another show tonight.

Even Chris Finch realizes the impact he has had so far, as he recently said, “It’s really what turned our season around was his playmaking. His decision-making, playing through him in different spots on the floor… He gives us almost another point out there. It’s everything for us, it’s been everything for our turnaround, and it’s everything for our team.”

Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards also sees the veteran forward in high regard, “He’s an alpha male, man. He stands out. When he plays like that, we’re hard to beat.” Sure enough, the respect is mutual, as Randle also had high praise for Ant-Man, “I have been around a lot of great players. He is as confident in his belief in himself as… it’s Kobe-like. And I was around Kobe.”

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Maybe, this mutual respect is why Edwards and Randle have such great chemistry on the court. And it has become a nightmare for the Warriors as they fight to save their season, with an injured Steph helplessly watching from the sidelines.