The Minnesota Timberwolves are heading home down 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City has been the better team through two games, but the scene is now shifting over to Minneapolis.
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If the Timberwolves can’t figure out a way to get a win in Game 3, the series will essentially be over. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, and the Thunder were the best team in the league all season long.
But one of the bigger storylines from this series has been the physical play on Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Minnesota has tried to rough him up on the court, and it has backfired a little.
The league MVP from this season drew 15 more free-throw attempts during Game 2 against the Timberwolves. But toward the end of the game, Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels got into some hot water for a hard foul on the Thunder star.
Despite the Timberwolves being down 16, McDaniels decided to shove Gilgeous-Alexander, sending him to the ground. McDaniels received a Flagrant 1 for the incident, and he explained why he decided to do this after the fact.
“I just wanted to foul him,” McDaniels said. “I wasn’t even mad. I just had fouls to use.”
The Timberwolves forward plays a physical brand of defense, and it has helped him in the postseason so far. McDaniels was given the task of guarding Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic in the first round, and he made life very tough on the guard.
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McDaniels is one of the better perimeter defenders that the league has to offer, and he has taken on the primary role of guarding the Thunder star. It seems that he believes the foul could get into the mind of Gilgeous-Alexander, potentially altering his game moving forward.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has complained multiple times about the whistles that Oklahoma City receives, but especially Gilgeous-Alexander. And it seems that McDaniels was simply trying to send a message ahead of the critical Game 3 between the two teams.
Game 3 between the two sides is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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