The Western Conference Finals see the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder one game away from reaching the NBA Finals after a wild Game 4 win gave them a 3-1 series lead over the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Thunder are aiming to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. This postseason, OKC swept the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies before needing seven games to eliminate the No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are trying to secure their first appearance in the NBA Finals in franchise history. The Wolves previously knocked off the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers before dispatching the No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors.
Here’s what stood out from the Thunder’s Game 4 win and what to expect as the series heads back to Oklahoma City for Game 5.
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Game 4: Thunder 128, Timberwolves 126
What stood out for the Thunder: Well, we finally got our first nail-biter of the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma City recovered from a 42-point loss in Game 3 to prevail in the clutch against the Timberwolves to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Timberwolves fought back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit near the halfway mark of the period. After that, the game turned into a free-throw contest down the stretch. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had a playoff career-high 40 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, made 5 of his 6 free throws in the final 15 seconds to give the Thunder the win. Jalen Williams added 34 points, including going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc, and Chet Holmgren had 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
What stood out for the Timberwolves: Considering Anthony Edwards only attempted two shots through the first two quarters, it’s impressive that the Timberwolves were even in this game at all. (They trailed the Thunder by only eight points at halftime, 65-57.) Edwards finished with just 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting, including going 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. But while he struggled to get anything going offensively, three of his teammates finished with at least 20 points, including Nickeil Alexander-Walker (23 points), Jaden McDaniels (22 points) and Donte DiVincenzo (21 points).
The Timberwolves were nipping at the Thunder’s heels down the stretch, but a constant stream of fouls prevented them from being able to complete a comeback. Gilgeous-Alexander left the door open for the Timberwolves after missing a free throw with 8.8 seconds left and the Thunder up, 126-123. But the Thunder immediately fouled Naz Reid, who made both of his shots from the charity stripe to cut the Timberwolves’ deficit to one point. Gilgeous-Alexander responded by making a pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds left to put the Thunder back up by three points, 128-125.
With 3.5 seconds remaining, the Thunder then fouled Anthony Edwards, who had to intentionally miss his second free throw to give the Timberwolves a chance, but the Timberwolves couldn’t get off another shot.
What’s in store for Game 4: The Timberwolves are staring down an ominous 3-1 series hole. For them to have a chance, Edwards can’t have any more lackluster games and the Timberwolves need to take control from the beginning, as they did in Game 3. As for the Thunder, they’re sitting pretty at the moment. Gilgeous-Alexander, who just won the MVP Award, showed why he deserved that honor, putting the team on his shoulders in this win and making five clutch free throws down the stretch. The Thunder, who had the best record in the league in the regular season, are now only one game away from their first Finals appearance since 2012.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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