Chris Long

Ant, on what worked for them against Golden State: "It's not about who gets 30 points or the most shots... none of that. It's coming together as a team, defending at a high level and holding the other team to one shot. We did that tonight."

Gobert on his solid play in both closeout games vs Lakers & Warriors "Being present on both ends, trying to set the tone for my teammates. Doing it with my energy. The game takes care of itself. When you're in the moment, enjoying the moment, I tried to do that every night."

When Gobert was asked about the satisfaction of winning tonight... Edwards jumped in, saying: "There is no satisfaction. We just got here. We haven't done anything yet."

Anthony Edwards, saying last year they'd be back after losing in the WCF: "Lot of ups and downs. Just had to stay with it. What fueled it? We lost last year. I took that into the summer... the time I had (to work out) I had it in the back of my mind."

This here is the stat of the day, folks.......

Dustin Baker @DustBaker

The Timberwolves become the first professional men's sports team in Minnesota to reach back-to-back Conference Championships since the Vikings in 1976 and 1977.

Mike Conley on Ant saying after last year's WCF loss they'd be back: "He believes everything he says, no matter what it is. At that moment, I believed him. It wasn't the end of the road... He's led us to this point... it all starts with him and his belief in his teammates."

Mike Conley, integrating Randle & new players: "For a lot of us it was a learning curve. They allowed us to stick with it. At times we weren't playing our best early in the season, but nobody got down on each other. We kept going, learning from each other as we went."

Elsewhere... Vegas, who bounced the #MnWild, are out in 5.

NHL @NHL

THE EDMONTON OILERS WIN GAME 5 AND THE SERIES IN OVERTIME!! 🔵🟠 #StanleyCup https://t.co/LVKXt6oahF

Julius Randle: "We came out with the right approach. We knew they had that championship DNA, they weren't going to just lay down. They were going to make us earn it and they did."

Here's the thing... The Wolves have been FAR from perfect this postseason so far. Yet they're 8-2... ...having handed early dismissals to: A) a higher-seeded team everybody had winning and B) the best defensive team in the NBA down the stretch (yes, I know Curry was out).

Chris Finch, asked when he knew he had a Western Conference Final-worthy team this season: "It depended on the day (smiles)... We felt confident in our group once we saw them play how they could play - let's put it that way."

Chris Finch: "Our guys took care of business, and that's something we haven't always done."

Chris Finch: "Coming into this year, we had one question: 'Were you a Western Conference Finals team or a team that happened to make the Western Cnferene Finals'. There's only one way to prove it... do it again."

wyd Ant He's a bit of a mess here all of a sudden

😬

Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz @LeBatardShow

https://t.co/2hmpzRd45T