Only one team looked ready to play in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, and it wasn’t the team with a 2-0 lead.
After lopsided losses in Games 1 and 2, the Timberwolves got on the board with an out-of-nowhere 143-101 demolition of the Thunder. The 42-point margin was OKC’s worst loss of the season, and the 143 points scored set a playoff franchise record for Minnesota.
Anthony Edwards clearly entered the game on a mission after a subpar Game 1. The Minnesota star notched 16 points and two assists in the first quarter, single-handedly outscoring the Thunder. The Timberwolves finished the frame 34-14, OKC’s lowest-scoring quarter of the season, and kept pounding them from there.
Edwards finished the game with 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
The most telling stat for the Timberwolves as a team might have been that they had 16 points off turnovers in the first quarter, after posting 10 in all of Game 2.
By halftime, the Timberwolves were up by 31. By the end of the third quarter, they were up 37. Their lead peaked at 45. It was an impressive response after the Thunder bullied them in Oklahoma, with every member of the rotation showing increased aggression on defense.
For OKC, the problems started with a season-low 14-point night from newly crowned MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Even with the Thunder’s dominance this season, their offense needs him to be a consistent difference-maker with the ball, and Minnesota’s adjustments kept him contained pretty much all night. Defenders kept picking him up at mid-range on drives, taking away a vital part of his game and leaving the rest of OKC’s offense needing to improvise.
Notably, Gilgeous-Alexander reached the free-throw line only four times, with chants of “Free-throw merchant” raining down from the Minnesota crowd. He shot 4-of-13 from the field, with 6 assists and 4 turnovers.
No other Thunder player scored more than 13 points, and it was the first time the team lost the turnover battle since March 25.
Game 4 is scheduled for Monday at the Target Center, where the Timberwolves can either even the series or get pushed to the brink. Judging from how they looked Saturday, the Thunder have some significant changes to make.
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