The sting of a 42-point loss has lingered for Oklahoma City guard and NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
On Monday night, Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates will try to prove that Game 3 was an aberration instead of a crack in the team’s foundation. The Thunder will tip off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals in Minneapolis.
Oklahoma City has a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series but is coming off a 143-101 drubbing on Saturday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander said the embarrassing loss should serve as a wake-up call.
“We don’t try to go out like that, I promise you,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But whatever it is, we’ve got to figure it out if we want to reach our ultimate goals. That’s what the days in between are for, to get better.”
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are eager to build upon a big win as they look to even the series. A loss would put them on the verge of elimination with the series shifting back to Oklahoma City for Game 5.
Timberwolves guard Rudy Gobert said the team’s approach should be simple.
“We know who we are,” Gobert said, “so just be ourselves.”
Anthony Edwards leads the Timberwolves with 26.7 points per game through the series’ first three contests. Julius Randle is averaging 19.3 points, and Jaden McDaniels is scoring 13.0 points per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Thunder with 27.7 points per game in the series. Jalen Williams (19.3 ppg) and Chet Holmgren (15.7 ppg) round out the Thunder’s big three.
Holmgren expressed confidence that he and his Thunder teammates can bounce back in their second straight game in Minnesota. He acknowledged how the Timberwolves regrouped after losing Games 1 and 2, and he said it was up to Oklahoma City to study film and find ways to reassert themselves.
“We have to do the exact same thing they did (after Game 2),” Holmgren said. “We have to go back and watch and see why what they did worked, and then figure out how to counter that.”
Gilgeous-Alexander presented it as a choice for the Thunder. He scored 31 points in Game 1 and 38 points in Game 2, but he struggled on Saturday as he finished with 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
“(In) a long season, you get punched,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s about getting back up. It’s about responding. That’s what the challenge is.
“We got punched in the mouth (in Game 3). Next game, we’re either going to get back up or not. … We have a decision to make, for sure.”
One player who can expect more playing time on Monday is Timberwolves rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. He came off the bench to score 15 points in Game 3, and he impressed teammates and coaches alike with his physical drives to the rim.
“I’ve been wrestling with getting another guy in the rotation,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. “A guy that could stretch the floor in transition, be a downhill player, got a good body, physicality. …
“You’re definitely going to see him more.”
–Field Level Media
