The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the road on Monday night as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
Oklahoma City was able to get off to a dominant start in the series as they took the first two games of the series at home to grab a commanding 2-0 lead.
That changed in Game 3 on Saturday as the series shifted to Minnesota. The Timberwolves were able to pick up an easy and crucial 42-point victory to avoid falling behind 3-0 in the series.
Jaden McDaniels, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels defends a drive by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Now the Thunder will look to bounce back after they were blown out in Game 3 by taking a commanding 3-1 series lead with a victory on Monday night before heading back to Oklahoma City for Game 5.
For the Thunder, they will enter Tuesday’s game with a clean injury report as they have only one player listed on it.
That player is rookie guard Nikola Topic who will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL he suffered last summer.
Topic’s rehab has gone well as he was seen at shootaround on Monday morning getting up some shots, which is a great sign as Oklahoma City continues to anticipate his NBA debut next season.
While Topic is out, the rest of the Thunder’s core is healthy and available for Monday’s game and they will need them to all play much better than they did in Game 3 to avoid allowing the Timberwolves to tie the series up.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dribbles the ball past Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7).
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dribbles the ball past Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7).
Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
On the other side, the Timberwolves enter Monday’s game with a clean injury report as well as they have nobody listed on it.
This is crucial for Minnesota as they continue to fight back from their early hole in the series as they try to tie it back up before heading back to Oklahoma City.
Fans can catch Monday’s Game 4 matchup between the Thunder and Timberwolves at 8:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.