Timberwolves Dominate Thunder with 143-101 Victory in Game 3

The Minnesota Timberwolves breezed to a 42-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their Western Conference Finals on Saturday night from Target Center. The series is now 2-1 Thunder.

By watching the game, you would not know who was the top seed and who was the seventh seed. The Timberwolves came out with needed energy and purpose.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 30 points (12-for-17, 5-for-8 from downtown) and had a game-high 9 rebounds and ‘Wolves team-high 6 assists. 

Julius Randle turned in the second highest output of the game with 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Randle’s game was a huge improvement on Game 2 where he missed nine of 11 shots. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 15 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting in just 13 minutes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker put up 12 on 5-for-9 from the field in 18 minutes while Naz Reid grabbed 8 rebounds in addition to his 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Rudy Gobert played a strong defensive game with 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.  

On the Thunder side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was held to just 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting. It was the MVP’s first output all regular season and playoffs under 15 points. In Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, he scored 15 points on the same 4-for-13. 

Jalen Williams was 3-for-9 for 13 points and Chet Holmgren was 3-for-7 for 10 points. Alex Caruso shot 1-of-5 and Isaiah Joe was 1-for-7, the pair combining for 5 points. A bright spot was Kenrich Williams, who scored 8 points on 4-for-6 shooting. 

The Timberwolves held the Thunder to 40.7% from the field and dominated 50-31 in the rebounding department. The Wolves also committed four less turnovers, 10 to the Thunder’s 14. Minnesota made 13-of-17 from the line, while the Thunder made 17-of-19. Shooting the ball from deep, the Timberwolves made a blistering 20-of-40 and overall

shot 57.3% from the field. 

The Timberwolves needed a response in Game 3 like the one they gave, and thanks to their dominant performance on Saturday, they are right back in the series.