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.

NBA fans and pundits, unfamiliar with this version of Julius Randle's game, felt they owed him an apology after another big playoff game for the Timberwolves.

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.

On Monday evening, the Minnesota Timberwolves went up 3-1 in their second round series vs the Golden State Warriors with a dominant road win that was not nearly as close as the final score suggested.