Saturday night, the OKC Thunder looked penetrable for the first time all postseason, as they were shellacked by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the tune of a 143-101 loss.
Though the contest proved to be the only time in which Oklahoma City had been bested in blowout fashion during their impressive 2025 playoff run, oddly enough, one could take the drubbing as somewhat of a positive occurrence.
From figuring out what players can successfully weather the storm of such hardships (Ajay Mitchell dropped 14 points on 54.5 percent shooting during the game) to highlighting areas of the T-Wolves' game plan that OKC's defense should start to focus on, Game 3 revealed a number of things that the Thunder must try and course correct on if they wish to advance beyond round three.
To someone like Cason Wallace, in many ways, their 42-point folly should be seen as something they can use to their advantage for Game 4 and onward, as he noted during Sunday's practice media session that the way in which they lost will give Oklahoma City an "edge" moving forward.
Cason Wallace believes OKC Thunder will play with 'edge' in Game 4
"The margin doesn't matter. It's a loss no matter how much we lose by, but watching film and seeing the way that we lost definitely gives us a little edge for tomorrow," Wallace said.
Wallace would continue on to note that, in his eyes, the Thunder "didn't have the fight" needed to pull out their third consecutive win in Game 3, and this certainly shows within the box score.
For the first time this postseason, Oklahoma City found themselves losing the turnover battle, being outperformed on this front 14-10.
On top of this, they were absolutely manhandled in the second-chance department, being out-rebounded on the offensive side 11-5 and, subsequently, outscored 20-7 when it comes to second-chance points.
All in all, it seemed as though virtually every key contributor on OKC's roster put forth their worst performances of the playoffs this past weekend, especially Wallace, who, despite establishing himself as the club's X-factor throughout their run, wrapped the night up with 2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist while registering an abysmal -30 plus-minus.
Fortunately, even with the lopsided finish, the Thunder still hold a 2-1 series lead and are leading into Monday's Game 4 with confidence on their side.
It'll be a get-right game for Oklahoma City, and, considering they've lost back-to-back games just twice through all of the 2024-25 campaign, the odds of there being a bounce-back seem to be well in their favor.