Former Knicks Guide Timberwolves Back to Conference Finals

In the clincher, a 121-110 triumph for the Timberwolves, Randle led the Wolves with 29 points on 13-of-18 from the field while DiVincenzo was 5-of-7 off the bench. The sixth-seeded Timberwolves took care of business in front of their home crowd at Target Center, winning four-straight over a seventh-ranked Warrior group missing Stephen Curry due to a hamstring strain.

Both DiVincenzo and Randle were the headliners of the trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to Manhattan shortly before this season's training camps convened. The possibility of seeing their former teammates in the NBA Finals is still alive, as the current Knicks own a 3-2 series lead in their own conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics.

Thus continues the postseason redemption of Randle, who missed the entirety of last season's spring endeavors with the Knicks after he endured a season-ending shoulder injury. In the five-game set with the Warriors, Randle averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 assists, and 6.6 rebounds while shooting over 53 percent from the floor.

"I don't really get into the narratives of having something to prove," Randle told Jbara. "I think the only thing I want to prove is that I'm a winner. Every game, I want to try to give my team the best chance to win. That's all I care about. Like I said, we got win No. 8, we're looking for No. 9, whoever that's going to be against. Just trying to stay locked in and focused, just help my team win every single night. It's not about me."

A rollercoaster campaign has yielded the Wolves' third WCF appearance in franchise history and the second in a row after they went five games with the Dallas Mavericks last year. They'll now await the winner of the top-placed Oklahoma City Thunder's showdown with the Denver Nuggets, which currently sits in the former's favor at 3-2.