Conference semifinals
A look at the Wolves-Warriors matchup includes a movie reference
Two teams that beat a higher seed will match up in the NBA’s Western Conference Semifinals when the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Golden State Warriors starting Tuesday at Target Center.
The sixth-seeded Timberwolves ousted the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in five games and the seventh-seeded Warriors upended the second-seeded Houston Rockets in a seven-game series.
Minnesota has won more playoff series in the past 367 calendar days than they had their entire franchise's history from 1989-2023.
The Wolves won two series last year and one this year. Before that, the franchise had only two playoff series and those were both in 2004.
It’s the first playoff meeting ever between the teams. The Timberwolves were the last remaining Western Conference team the Warriors had not faced in the postseason in franchise history.
Series schedule
Here’s the schedule for the series. Listed are game number, date, time, site and TV coverage.
Game 1: Tuesday, May 6, 8:30 p.m., Target Center/TNT
Game 2: Thursday, May 8, 7:30 p.m., Target Center/TNT
Game 3: Saturday, May 10, 7:30 p.m., Chase Center, San Francisco/ABC
Game 4: Monday, May 12, 9 p.m., Chase Center/ESPN
Game 5: (if necessary) Wednesday, May 14, Target Center, time TBD/TNT
Game 6: (if necessary) Sunday, May 18, Chase Center, time TBD/TV TBD
Game 7: (if necessary) Monday, May 20, 7:30 p.m., Target Center/ESPN
Regular-season meetings
The Warriors won the regular-season series between the teams 3-1. Three of the games were played in December, with the first two being back-to-back. The other was played in January.
12-06-24: Minnesota Timberolves 107, Golden State Warriors 90
12-08-24: Golden State Warriors 114, Minnesota Timberwolves 106
12-21-24: Golden State Warriors 113, Minnesota Timberwolves 103
01-15-25: Golden State Warriors 116, Minnesota Timberwolves 115
All-time Timberwolves vs. Warriors
The series capsule for the Timberwolves vs. the Warriors:
Overall: 57-77
In Minnesota: 17-22
In Golden State: 12-29
Preseason: 4-2
Postseason: 0-0
Last win: 107-90 at Golden State (12-06-24)
Last home win: 114-110 at Minnesota (03-24-24)
Last road win: 107-90 at Golden State (12-06-24)
Last loss: 115-116 at Minnesota (01-15-25)
Last home loss: 115-116 at Minnesota (01-15-25)
Last road loss: 106-114 at Golden State (12-08-24)
Biggest win: 39 – 122-83 at Minnesota (02-23-01)
Biggest loss: 41 – 105-146 at Golden State (11-09-09)
No. 6 vs. No. 7
This will mark the third time a No. 6 seed has played a No. 7 seed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Here are those matchups:
1987: Houston (6) vs. Seattle (7), Seattle won 4-2
2023: Golden State (6) vs. L.A. Lakers (7), Lakers won 4-2
2025: Minnesota (6) vs. Golden State (7)
No. 7 seeds
Golden State is the seventh No. 7 seed to advance the conference semifinals. It’s the third the that the Warriors have done it.
1987: Seattle Super Sonics
1989: Golden State Warriors
1991: Golden State Warriors
1998: New York Knicks
2010: San Antonio Spurs
2023: Los Angeles Lakers
2025: Golden State Warriors
Scoring leaders
The top 10 in career playoff points in playoff games for both teams.
Timberwolves
Name Points Games
Kevin Garnett 1049 47
Anthony Edwards 884 32
Karl-Anthony Towns 603 32
Wally Szcerbiak 369 29
Latrell Sprewell 357 18
Sam Casell 265 16
Jaden McDaniels 338 27
Rudy Gobert 297 25
Mike Conley 262 25
Naz Reid 259 26
Warriors
Name Points Games
Stephen Curry 4134 154
Klay Thompson 3032 158
Draymond Green 1881 164
Rick Barry 1776 66
Kevin Durant 1423 48
Wilt Chamberlain 1246 36
Paul Arizin 1186 49
Jeff Mullins 1073 77
Andre Iguodala 977 111
Nate Thurmond 833 54
Coaching wins
When Golden State defeated Houston 95-85 in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round, Steve Kerr became the sixth coach in NBA history to win 100 playoff games. He moved past Red Auerbach (99) and into a tie with Larry Brown for sixth place.
Kerr reached the century mark in his 141st career game, the second best all-time, trailing only Phil Jackson’s 135 games.
Most wins
The most coaching wins in the playoffs in NBA history.
Phil Jackson 229
Pat Riley 171
Gregg Popovich 170
Doc Rivers 114
Erik Spoelstra 110
Steve Kerr 103
Larry Brown 100
Red Auerbach 99
Jerry Sloan 98
K.C. Jones 81
The fastest
Fewest games needed to win 100 playoff games
Phil Jackson 135
Steve Kerr 141
Pat Riley 142
Gregg Popovich 155
Erik Spoelstra 186
Larry Brown 188
K.C. Jones 194
Warriors history
The Golden State Warriors have played a total of 77 seasons. Their first season was in 1949.
From 1949-1962, the team was known as the Philadelphia Warriors.
In 1963, the team moved to San Francisco and changed its name to the San Francisco Warriors. In 1972, the team moved to Oakland and changed their name to the Golden State Warriors.
In 2020, the Golden State Warriors moved to San Francisco.
What years did the Warriors make the NBA Finals?
While in San Francisco, the have appeared in the NBA Finals three times, in 1964, 1967 and 2022.
In their full franchise history, they've appeared in 10 NBA Finals. In San Francisco, they appeared in three NBA Finals as the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Warriors, in 1964, 1967 and 2022.
In Philadelphia, they appeared in one NBA Finals as the Philadelphia Warriors, in 1956.
In Oakland, they appeared in six NBA Finals as the Golden State Warriors, in 1975 and 2015-2019.
The Warriors
You (well, maybe just I) can’t hear the word Warriors without thinking about the 1979 movie, “The Warriors.”
In the movie, a street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader from the Rogues.
The Rogues' car in the Coney Island confrontation was a 1955 Cadillac hearse.
Producer Walter Hill was underwhelmed by the script's depiction taunting the Warriors, and asked actor David Patrick Kelly for ideas. Kelly first proposed using two dead pigeons, which was rejected.
While Hill left to adjust some cameras, Kelly went under the boardwalk and emerged with some discarded beer bottles. When Hill returned to the car to ask what he had come up with, Kelly clinked the bottles together with his fingers and ad-libbed this now-iconic line.
The Warriors has become a cult film. As of December 2023, the film garnered an 88% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 51 reviews.
In 2003, The New York Times placed the film on its "Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made."
Entertainment Weekly named it the 16th-greatest cult film on its 2003 "Top 50 Greatest Cult Films" list and ranked it 14th in its 2008 list of the "25 Most Controversial Movies Ever."