The Thunder took the lead in the Western Conference finals by playing elite defense. In Game 4, they had to win a different way but were once again up to the task.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made two big additions to their rotation this offseason, adding Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso to an already loaded roster.
It didn’t just make the team better. It took a team loaded with talent and made it the most versatile in the league. Both players allow the Thunder to play different lineups while still bringing the characteristics (ball movement, player movement, toughness) they desire.
While Oklahoma City has spent most of the postseason winning with its elite defense, the Timberwolves impressive shot-making made that a non-starter in Games 3 and 4. If the Thunder wanted to leave Minnesota with a series lead, they would need to find a way to match the Timberwolves’ offensive fireworks.
They did just that in Game 4, shooting 50.5% from the field and 43.2% on 3-pointers in a 128-126 win that gave them a 3-1 series lead with a chance to close things out at home in Wednesday’s Game 5.
Our projection model now gives them a 97.3% chance of advancing to the franchise’s first NBA Finals since 2012.
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1-2 Punch
The Thunder are at their best offensively when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams get to their spots early in the shot clock and they did that in Game 4.
Gilgeous-Alexander was coming off his worst game of the postseason – 14 points on 13 shots in OKC’s blowout loss in Game 3. But he refused to be bothered by the Timberwolves’ physicality again.
The 2024-25 NBA MVP sent a message in the first quarter when he was met by Rudy Gobert on a drive to the rim. Instead of being deterred, he bodied Gobert out of the way and laid it in for an easy layup. SGA was dictating the terms of engagement, not Minnesota’s long help defenders, on the way to 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Williams was off in Game 3 as well and only took four 2-point shots after taking 16 in Game 1 and 14 in Game 2. He was more aggressive getting to the basket in Game 4 and had 34 points to go along with a career-high six 3-pointers. It was a lethal combination.
Jalen Williams Shot Chart Game 4
Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams combined for 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the first quarter to get the Thunder out to a 37-30 lead. Both stars set the tone, a crucial occurrence getting blown out in the same building in Game 3.
While Williams was the most aggressive he’s been hunting his shot in this series, SGA just reverted back to the aggression that made him the best player on the floor in Games 1 and 2. The Timberwolves couldn’t keep him from getting to his spots or getting to the foul line.
He didn’t shoot well from 3 in Game 4 (2 of 7) but he had at least 14 free throws for the third time this series. Prior to this series, he hadn’t shot that many free throws in a game since February.
The two stars were engaged and got comfortable, and, after that, there was nothing the Timberwolves could do to faze them.
If At First You Don’t Succeed
The Thunder did just about everything well this season, ranking third in offensive TRACR and first in defensive TRACR. However, they weren’t an elite offensive rebounding team. That rang true for this series as well. Through three games, they had 23 offensive rebounds combined.
But when teams play opponents with different styles, there are often offensive rebounds to be had. Bigger teams can overwhelm smaller teams down low and the Timberwolves did that plenty to the Thunder in Game 4, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds. The Thunder played smaller lineups and the Timberwolves took advantage.
However, the Thunder were able to match the Timberwolves and pulled down 19 rebounds of their own in Game 4. It seems counterintuitive that going smaller helped the Thunder on the offensive glass, but it makes sense. When the Thunder are on offense, they do an excellent job of running the Timberwolves’ bigs around the court. Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Julius Randle would have to navigate screens and get out of their comfort zones while guarding on the perimeter.
When shots go up while bigs are chasing smaller players around, it’s a lot harder for them to box out than when they’re simply guarding the post. Think of how difficult it is for bigger players to close out effectively while still containing a drive. It’s essentially the same thing trying to guard on the perimeter and then box out a player sprinting toward the glass.
The Thunder also gobbled up offensive rebounds in the more traditional way by getting their big men to crash the boards when SGA and Williams drove to the rim. The dribble penetration overwhelmed the Timberwolves and help had to come. Offensive rebounds were a symptom of that defensive disease as Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein had four offensive boards apiece.
Thunder Game 4 offense
Failure to Launch
It was a tough loss for the Timberwolves, because they matched the Thunder punch for punch for most of the game. In the end, their excellent shooting and incredible games from Nickel Alexander-Walker and Jaden McDaniels just weren’t enough to offset the poor performance from their stars.
Anthony Edwards couldn’t get it going early. The Thunder amped up their pressure on the Timberwolves’ ball handlers and it put them on their heels to start the game. Edwards went into deferral mode with the extra attention on him and shot just two field-goal attempts in the first half.
To his credit, Edwards made some adjustments after halftime. He was more aggressive with his shot, but he also started to leverage the extra attention on him and get open looks for his teammates. Chris Finch also used Edwards as a decoy on a few possessions, most notably an inbounds play in which he sent Edwards to the short corner but got Donte DiVincenzo, who was 5 of 8 from 3-point range, open in the opposite corner.
Edwards still had some hiccups, but he had a lot more positive impact in the second half. He finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting overall.
The same cannot be said for Julius Randle, who tied his season low (regular season or playoffs) with five points on 1-of-7 shooting – and had five turnovers.
Part of the reason the Thunder wanted to play smaller was to grease the wheels offensively. But it also allowed them to play Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace together more often. Caruso and Wallace are capable of switching the Edwards-Randle pick-and-roll without giving either player a huge advantage.
There aren’t many defensive combinations on the planet that can do this, and it’s clearly thrown Randle for a loop. He’s bigger than both Caruso and Wallace, but they’ve both matched his physicality. Randle now has two games this series with 24 or more points and two games with six or fewer. The Timberwolves can’t afford to have him thrive every other game. He needs to be a factor in every game moving forward to make this series competitive.
Even with a subpar game from Edwards and a terrible one from Randle, the Timberwolves almost pulled out a win. But, in the end, the Thunder emerged victorious, doing whatever it takes to win. If they can do it one more time, they’ll be moving on to the NBA Finals.
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