Bill Haisten
As Oklahoma City surged to a three-games-to-one lead over Minnesota in the NBA’s Western Conference finals, the Thunder’s 128-126 road win in Game 4 will be remembered as having been a defining performance by OKC’s Triplets.
From Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren on Monday night, there were combined totals of 95 points and 19 rebounds. For the most part, OKC’s Game 4 report card is quite clean:
Positive start: A-plus. After Saturday’s four horrific quarters on Minnesota’s home floor, it was critically important to start well in Game 4. By the end of the opening period, the Thunder lead was seven points. On paper, a seven-point advantage is modest. On Monday night, though, it was a very impressive seven-point lead because the score was 37-30.
By the end of Saturday’s opening quarter, Oklahoma City had a still-hard-to-believe total of only 14 points. Monday’s 37-point first quarter was a resounding statement that there would be no repeat of Game 3.
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By the 7½-minute mark of the opening period — as Lu Dort converted on one of his patented skyball 3-pointers — OKC had as many points (14) as it scored during the entire first quarter on Saturday.
The Timberwolves’ Target Center crowd was desperately ready to become a factor, but the Thunder defense doused the fire of the fans by forcing seven first-quarter turnovers and an overall total of 21.
Defending against Edwards: A. What would Minnesota get on Monday? The ineffective Anthony Edwards of Game 1 or the dynamic Edwards of Game 3? Whether it was applied by Lu Dort or SGA or Alex Caruso — or occasionally three defenders at once — Edwards was peppered with pressure all night. During the first half on Monday, the usually productive Ant-Man had one bucket.
During the regular season, Edwards converted on more 3-point attempts — 320 — than any other NBA shooter. He scored 30 points against OKC on Saturday and during the regular season averaged 27.6. In Game 4 on Monday, the Ant-Man was limited to 16 points on 1-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.
Shot defense: C. Sometimes, it’s a simple matter of the other team having a hot hand. Sometimes, that other team’s shots are falling — even when contested. The oddity of Game 4, however, is that the same Thunder defense that limited Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle to a combined total of 21 points got torched by Minnesota’s role guys.
From their bench, the Timberwolves got 62 points from Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Terrence Shannon Jr. On 3-point attempts, they were 12-of-20.
It’s easier said than done, to expect 48 minutes of the type of shot defense that Oklahoma City executed against the Wolves’ starters. But the stakes are too high to allow role players to finish 12-of-20 on threes.
The Thunder is one win away from the NBA Finals. In a close-out opportunity in Wednesday’s Game 5 in OKC, there has to be a more complete performance defensively. No one said it would be easy. If it were easy, the Memphis Grizzlies or Orlando Magic might still be playing.
SGA’s response: A. The Most Valuable Player was uncharacteristically lethargic in Game 3, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 14-point stumble was only one of about 10 Thunder problems that night.
If Oklahoma City had any chance of rallying from Saturday’s 42-point loss and scoring a Game 5 road victory, SGA would have to play at an MVP level. He did.
In addition to his playoff career-high 40 points, there were 10 rebounds and nine assists. SGA was 12-of-14 on free throws. He was knocked to the floor several times and must have been exhausted after playing a team-high total of 40 minutes. He was dogged by Wolves’ defenders on every touch of the ball, but Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance seemed to inspire his teammates.
Every time the Timberwolves threatened to change the tone of the game, SGA had an answer.
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