Oklahoma City Thunder push Minnesota Timberwolves to brink of elimination with controversial Game 4 finish

The Oklahoma City Thunder have taken a commanding three-games-to-one series lead in the Western Conference Finals and are just one win away from a fifth NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.

After getting blown out in Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a pair of 30-plus point performances sparked the Thunder to a 128-126 win in Minneapolis on Monday evening.

Now, the Thunder return to Oklahoma City and will hope to reach the NBA’s championship series for the second time since relocating from Seattle.

The game ended in controversy after Thunder star and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw the ball out of bounds just before the buzzer.

It appeared that a fan caught the ball with 0.6 seconds remaining. However, the officials only set the clock to 0.3 seconds – which was not enough time for the Timberwolves to get a shot up.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with a 40 point, nine rebound, ten assist double-double to help right the ship after a 42 point blowout loss two nights prior.

NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped a 40 point, 10 assist double-double on Monday

Fellow starter Jalen Williams dropped 34 points in a monster game from him

He was helped with an incredibly strong performance from forward Jalen Williams, who put up 34 points on 24 shots.

Power forward Chet Holmgren also put up 21 points and seven rebounds to help give the Thunder the chance to win a conference title in front of their home fans.

It came on a night where the Timberwolves heavily leaned on their bench – outscoring the Thunder’s reserves 64-27.

Bench guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Minnesota with 23 points, four rebounds, and six assists on the night. Fellow bench-mate Donte DiVincenzo also had 21 points and five assists.

Minnesota’s starters let them down – shooting a combined 22-of-51 on the night. Star man Anthony Edwards hit only 38 percent from the field while putting up 16 points, four rebounds, and six assists.

The best starter on the night was forward Jaden McDaniels – the only Timberwolves starter to hit 20+ points. He finished with 22 points and four rebounds on a 9-of-15 shooting line. 

Oklahoma City will try and reach its second NBA Finals since moving from Seattle in 2008. Their last appearance came in 2012, when they lost in five games to the Miami Heat led by their ‘big three’ of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

In Seattle, the Supersonics franchise won the 1979 NBA title over the same Washington Bullets team they had lost the NBA Finals to in the prior season. 

Minnesota bench stars Nickeil Alexander-Walker (L) and Donte DiVincenzo (R) carried the load

But the Timberwolves starters – including Anthony Edwards – struggled to score

In addition to those two series and the Thunder’s one appearance, the franchise also lost the 1996 NBA Finals in six games to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

On the other hand, if Minnesota is to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in their franchise’s history, they’ll have to become the 14th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs. 

Of those 13 other comebacks, only four came in the conference finals – with the last one coming in 2016, when the Golden State Warriors beat the Thunder.

A 3-1 comeback hasn’t happened in the NBA since the 2020 playoffs – when the Denver Nuggets pulled off consecutive comebacks in the first and second rounds.