timberwolves warriors game 4

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Tyler Everett

By Tyler Everett

Sports Betting Editor

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With Stephen Curry out of the lineup for the Warriors (7), their defense has played well enough to keep two of their first three Western Conference Semifinal games vs. the Wolves (6) close.

Despite entering the fourth quarter of Game 3 with a 73-69 lead on Saturday night, the Warriors struggled to get stops down the stretch, especially over the final 4:38 after Draymond Green left the game following his sixth foul. With Green off the court, Minnesota controlled the final minutes to win 102-97 and take a commanding 2-1 series lead.

The Warriors were able to keep it close on Saturday night thanks to Jimmy Butler III (33 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) and Jonathan Kuminga (30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists).

Tonight, they'll need much more offensively from Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green, who combined for seven points in Game 3, to even the series.

Wolves vs. Warriors Game 4 Betting Odds

How to Watch Timberwolves vs. Warriors Game 4

Timberwolves vs. Warriors Series Winner Odds (as of May 12)

Wolves vs. Warriors Game 4 Player Props

Jonathan Kuminga Over 17.5 Points (-110 at DraftKings) -- 1 unit

The Western Conference Semifinals went sideways for the Warriors before halftime of Game 1, as Stephen Curry left the series opener in the second quarter (even though they ended up winning that game anyway).

With Curry out of the lineup due to his hamstring injury and Golden State now holding longer than 5-to-1 odds to advance, Kuminga's play has been by far the biggest positive development for the Curry-less Warriors.

The up-and-down fourth-year forward was out of the rotation for most of the first-round series between the Warriors and Rockets. He was huge for Golden State in Game 3, though, with 30 points in 35 minutes. He also finished that game as the only Warrior with a positive plus-minus, at +5, which all but guarantees him another heavy workload in Game 4.

Based on his usage rate of 25 percent or greater in all three games in this series -- including 28.8 in Game 3 -- Kuminga should once again have the ball in his hands a ton tonight. If his usage rate is 25 percent or higher, again, in extended minutes, another 20-point night should be well within reach.

So, in addition to taking Kuminga to go over 17.5 points, also consider Kuminga 20+ points. This prop is particularly tempting at +146 at FanDuel given that DraftKings lists it at +100 as of Monday afternoon.

Wolves vs. Warriors Game 4 Pick, Best Bets

We wrote before Game 3 that it didn't feel like this version of the Warriors could score enough to take down the Wolves. That nearly backfired after Butler and Kuminga came out hot.

But Minnesota, which has made a habit of finishing strong in the playoffs, outscored Golden State 33-24 to go up 2-1.

The Timberwolves have now won the fourth quarter in all of their playoff games, and they've done so by a margin of at least six in seven of their eight postseason contests to date. The Wolves outscored the Lakers in the fourth quarter by a total of 42 points across five games, and they've outscored the Warriors by 22 total points through three games, as detailed below:

With Golden State leaning heavily on veterans Butler and Draymond Green, I expect the Wolves to once again own the fourth quarter tonight. That should allow them to cover this spread, even if this game's tight (and/or the Warriors are ahead) in the fourth.

And if you're wondering whether it's possible to take an alt spread for a particular quarter, I have great news for you: MIN 4th Quarter -3.5 is available at +157 at DraftKings.

Wolves vs. Warriors Game 4 Best Bets:

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