Blown Out in match 3, Oklahoma City shows its mental tenacity with a hard victory played in match 4.
Minneapolis – Finally, a tight match, a certain tension, a furious fourth quarter, many requests imposed on key players in this competition. And at the end, a team held a firm grip on the Western conference finals.
It would be Oklahoma City, because the Thunder made the right Monday on all the promises they generated from a season of 68 victories, bringing a solid defense and the MVP of Kia NBA when it really counted.
The series is now 3-1, with OKC just 48 minutes from a trip to the NBA final. And speaking of trips – the Thunder left Minneapolis with the comfort of knowing that they can win the crown of the conference at home on Wednesday (8:30 he, espn).
This series is OKC to lose and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s to lose. And neither the seeded team nor the supreme player show signs of leaving this shift.
Timberwolves have a difficult climb. They have to solve their offensive problems and win three consecutive games against a team that had not dropped so much all season.
Here are five points to remember from OKC sweat 128-126 VictoryHow thunder prevented Minnesota from taking control at any time, and the secret sauce they used to tame the only two wolves that can generate large buckets.
1. Shai says: “Shhhhhh”
He was tracked more by the crowd of the target center than the Wolves. Which says something, because wolves threw everything they could against MVP. And it was still not enough.
Gilgeous-Alexander came to a rebound of a 40-point triple-double. This marked the first time that it was clearly the dominant strength of this series, which will happen 48 hours since its weakest effort in all the playoffs (14 points in Match 3 of OKC).
However, the Wolves knew that this strong answer was going to happen. They prepared for it. And they were helpless against that. Shai carried out his business methodically. He didn’t have anything, distributing 10 assists, but each time the wolves flicker and gave him a daylight crack, he mostly made them pay.
He had 19 points in the second half and each time the Thunder needed a race, Gilgeous-Alexander was a large part. Oh, and this – he went to the line of free throws 14 times, doing 12.
Wolves and their crowds have no problem with the frequency of free throws, only the way in which these free throws are allocated. Touch mistakes? Shai may have taken advantage of a few.
“It’s your job to go there and play basketball and close them,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “I appreciated, that’s for sure.
“In terms of the label (free throw merchant) … I have already said – I have turned more free throws in a season than this season. Now that we are at the top, people care about it. I don’t care. I never cared. I see it as a complement.”
2. The defense of OKC on Edwards
What must Timberwolves do to survive match 5 and bring the West Conference to the house final?
The challenge concerned the list of priorities for OKC: what way of defending would it use to slow down, tame, reduce – whatever the description that corresponds – Anthony Edwards and prevent it from incending them?
Well, Edwards cannot get buckets when he does not have the ball or the place to wander. Thunder therefore gave him little space, and it was effective. Edwards only took two first half shots, 13 for the match, and finished with 16 points. He did not hit his first pointer by 3 unless less than six minutes are left in the match.
It was simply an elite defense that OKC is able to withdraw and why the Thunder brings the most rated unit in the league.
It was the work of coach Mark Daigneault and his staff, and Lu sleeps, and Alex Caruso. There is a reason why the two guards played 30 and 33 minutes respectively; The latter representing a healthy part for a bench player. Their goal was to track down Edwards, to get the help of Chet Holmgren every time a double team was necessary and to force Edwards to give up the ball.
“They came back to the way they played in matches 1 and 2,” said Edwards. “I was able to take shots but not selfish blows. They turned the gaps. I did not have enough chance to pull the ball. That’s what they did, not what I did not do. ”
3. OKC’s defense on Julius Randle
He is one of the hottest players in these playoff series, and he was thrown into a cold dive on Monday. Randle had its worst production of the playoffs, and the reason was really quite simple:
It cannot very well dribble, and OKC knows it.
Whenever Randle put the ball on the ground, the Thunder attacked. It frightened him, rocked him, forced her to make mistakes or abandon the ball. For 28 frustrating minutes, Randle was bambooed by OKC’s strategy.
At halftime, he had five points – and four reversals. For the rest of the game, it was shy to drive on the edge or to dribble the perimeter.
The problem was not only randle. He also exhibited one of the largest wolves weaknesses: the absence of a quality play leader. If the Wolves had such a player, then Randle would not play a point point, which, against this defense, is poorly equipped.
For the second time in this series, Wolves coach Chris Finch found a reason not to play Randle.
“He didn’t have a good night of course,” said Finch. “The bench was really, really good so I drove with them.”
Randle finished with five points on a 1 for 7 shot. For the context, Rudy Gobert almost tripled this amount. And Minnesota would not beat too many teams in these circumstances.
“I don’t think I have fought or he had trouble,” said Edwards. “They just had a good match plan. They took us away from the ball. “
4. Jalen Williams at La Récousse
The best floor player in the first half was Williams. Just as Edwards made the previous match, Williams set the tone to his team with his energy and his ability to score. In doing so, he put the wolves on their heels and on red alert.
All of this was to keep OKC in control of the game and prevent wolves from paying too much defensive attention to Gilgeous-Alexander. And that’s the goal of a second option.
Williams took 24 shots, scored 34 points, evidence of his effectiveness. He scored 13 in the first quarter. Minnesota had no one for him.
“He controlled most of the night,” said Daigneault. “He never seemed to be accelerated and he never seemed to dictate anything, and that is what the great offensive players can do. Just an excellent adjustment of him.”
5. Chet takes up the challenge
OKC was up five points with 40 seconds to do, but in these playoffs, it was barely sure. So many gatherings and breathtaking wins and victories have made this series a memorable series … So the Thunder had work to do.
It was then that Holmgren got up and published a key rejection of Jaden McDaniels two feet from the edge. Suddenly, a three -point potential match remained at five years when the seconds have moved away and transformed the rest of the competition into a free launch case.
The moment was typical for Holmgren in match 4. He delivered a game in a timely time after the other. Sometimes it was an agitation game, or an offensive rebound to save a possession, a bucket or a block.
Of all the thunder, maybe Holmgren grows the fastest of this qualifying series. Keep in mind that he gets out of a regular season in the event of an injury, and with only 14 career playoffs does not have exactly a deep experience.
None of this matter on Monday. When the Thunder needed him, Holmgren replied. All in all: 21 points, seven rebounds, three blocks.
“I think Chet changed the game for them,” said Edwards. “Easy points, whores, rebounds. I think it was the difference, from my point of view.”
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Shaun Powell covered the NBA for over 25 years. You can send him an email herefind His archives here And Follow him on x.
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