During the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, head coach Chris Finch made the decision to bench Julius Randle in the fourth quarter. The decision spawned numerous think pieces heading into Game 3. But Julius Randle bounced-back in Game 3 with a much better performance, earning the praise of Chris Finch after the game, as per Wolves reporter Travis Singleton.
“Julius was awesome. He and I chatted this morning, and I said, ‘hey, you had one subpar game in the playoffs so far and it just happened to be the other night,’” Finch said. “The other game, it was nothing really about him or his play specifically. We were down, we had to try and change the complexion of the floor, he got it. I think that’s where our team has grown in its maturity.”
“I just thought the team caught a little run, and I just figured I’d ride it out and see how it went,” Finch continued. “I was extremely proud of his response today. He got back to doing exactly what we needed him to do. . .he did a really good job of setting things up out there.”
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Julius Randle finished Game 3 of the Timberwolves 143-101 win against the Thunder with 24 points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of play. He shot 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the field, 2-of-5 (40 percent) from the three-point line and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
This was on the heels of his worst performance in the playoffs so far during Game 2. That game, he finished with only six points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting from the three-point line.
With the Timberwolves win, they get back into the series and cut the Thunder’s lead to 2-1. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday with the Wolves looking to even the series up at two games apiece before the Western Conference Finals shifts back to the Thunder’s home court.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">David Yapkowitz is a basketball journalist for ClutchPoints, writing news on the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA Basketball for both men and women. The Los Angeles native has bylines with Basketball Insiders, SB Nation, and The Next Hoops.