The Oklahoma City Thunder relied on all the attributes that led them to the NBA’s best record at 68-14 and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Offense, defense, star power and depth propelled the Thunder to a 128-126 victory in Game 4 of the conference finals Monday, making it a 3-1 series lead for the Thunder who can finish the series in Game 5 Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Oklahoma City is trying to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.
NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff career-high 40 points, and All-NBA forward Jalen Williams had a playoff career-high 34 points for the Thunder. Oklahoma City held Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards to an uneventful 16 points and Julius Randle to five points.
Here are the winners and losers from Game 4 between the Thunder and Timberwolves:
Thunder vs. Timberwolves Game 4 winners
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named MVP for the first time in his career last week, reached 40 points in a playoff game for the first time in his career, and it also was the first time he recorded 10 assists in a playoff game. He was one rebound shy of a triple-double and scored seven of his 11 fourth-quarter points on free throws – including five made three throws in the final 14.5 seconds.
He has scored at least 30 points in six of Oklahoma City’s past seven playoff games and is averaging 30.1 points in the four conference finals games.
Jalen Williams
Williams surpassed his previous playoff high (32 points against Denver in overtime earlier this month) with 34 points – 14 coming in the fourth quarter when the Thunder needed his offense to hold off a Minnesota rally. He was 13-for-24 from the field and 6-for-9 on 3-pointers, including a key 3 with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter that pushed OKC’s lead to 116-109 and another with 1:21 to play that gave the Thunder a 123-116 lead. He also had five assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Chet Holmgren
Holmgren scored 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting and added seven rebounds and three blocks. That two-way performance is what helped make the Thunder the No. 1 defensive team and No. 3 offensive team.
Minnesota’s bench
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-8 on 3s, and Donte DiVincenzo had 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-8 on 3s for the Timberwolves, whose bench produced 64 points. Naz Reid had 11 points and Terrence Shannon Jr. had nine.
Thunder vs. Timberwolves Game 4 losers
Anthony Edwards’ scoring
Edwards had 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting and was just 1-for-7 on 3s. That’s not enough – the Timberwolves need more shooting and scoring from Edwards. It’s the second time Edwards, who averaged 27.6 points during the regular season, has scored fewer than 20 points in this series.
Oklahoma City executed another strong defensive gameplan, keeping Edwards from dominating.
Julius Randle’s production
Randle had just five points, was 1-for-7 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He had just six points in Game 2, and it’s difficult for the Timberwolves to win conference finals when their second-best scorer has fewer than 10 points.
Timberwolves turnovers
Minnesota coach Chris Finch has bemoaned turnovers throughout the series, and Game 4 was another turnover-laden game for his squad. The Timberwolves committed 23 turnovers leading to 22 Thunder points. That facet of the game has turned into a major storyline of the series.
In Game 1 of the Western finals, the Timberwolves committed 19 turnovers leading to 34 Thunder points. In Game 2, Minnesota had 14 turnovers leading to 22 Oklahoma City points. The Timberwolves lost both games. In Game 3 at home, the Timberwolves turned the basketball over just 10 times for 15 Thunder points and won.
Late-game ‘intentional’ fouls
With the Thunder ahead 126-123 with less than 10 seconds to play, they played the foul game, preventing Minnesota from attempting a potential score-tying 3-pointer.
Oklahoma City fouled Minnesota’s Naz Reid with 7.8 seconds and 7.2 seconds left. The Thunder had a foul to give on the first foul and sent Reid to the free throw line on the second foul. After Reid made two free throws and Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws, the Thunder fouled Edwards with 3.5 seconds left so he couldn’t try a 3. Edwards made the first and intentionally missed the second.
The Thunder made the sound strategic decision for certain, but it also sullied the finish of a great game.