The Oklahoma City Thunder have officially taken a commanding 3-1 lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves after grabbing a 128-126 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday.
While this series has been littered with blowouts, Game 4 was a close matchup from the start. The Timberwolves looked hungry to tie the series and started off strong, but OKC’s suffocating defense forced 12 first-half turnovers. As the first half progressed, OKC made them pay for the sloppy offense.
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Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle both struggled to even get shots up in the first half, but breakout performances from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Donte DiVincenzo kept them in the game. The T-Wolves had a huge advantage in long-range shooting, but found themselves down by 11 points early in the third quarter.
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The Thunder seemed to let up on defense in the third however, allowing Minnesota to close the gap.
With OKC holding just a five-point lead at the end of the third, the Wolves looked ready for a comeback.
The fourth quarter was defined by ball movement and fast-paced offense from both teams. As the Timberwolves inched closer to a tie and cut the lead to just two points, the Thunder made several key defensive plays to get the win down the stretch.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a spectacular night and finished with 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, just one board shy of a triple-double. Jalen Williams also had a great game with 34 points, five assists and three steals.
For Minnesota, most of the scoring came from unlikely heroes. Alexander-Walker had 23 points while Jaden McDaniels had 22 points on 3-of-6 shooting from deep.
Edwards had a rough night, finishing with 16 points and six assists on 5-of-13 shooting while Randle had 5 points and shot just 1-of-7.
The Thunder didn’t play a perfect game, but they made big plays down the stretch and are now just one win away from reaching the NBA Finals.
James Parker is an NBA writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
