Anthony Edwards scored 30 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed the Oklahoma City Thunder 143-101 to tighten their NBA playoff series.
Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the hosts Timberwolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.
“I was super happy about the physicality and energy we brought,” Edwards said on Saturday. “Being down 2-0, it’s all about bringing energy, and we brought high energy.”
Julius Randle added 24 points for Minnesota, which set a club record for points in a playoff game in ripping the NBA regular-season win leaders and NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who managed only 14 points.
“We got punched in the mouth,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “You get punched, it’s about getting back up. It’s about responding. That’s what the next challenge is.”
The Thunder, who won the first two games at home, face Game 4 on Monday at Minneapolis and Game 5 on Wednesday at Oklahoma City.
“I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is going to come out and bring hella-energy and they are going to be ready to go and going to try to win game four and we’ve got to try and exceed their energy and get a win,” Edwards said.
“We’ll be ready.”
Minnesota’s victory was crucial because no team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series.
“We just didn’t bring it from an energy and focus standpoint,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “We just didn’t have it. They had the sense of urgency, knowing if they go down 3-0, it’s going to be pretty tough.
“They blitzed us pretty early, and we were never able to get back. We’ve got to start coming out with a sense of urgency.”
The Timberwolves set a club record for points in a playoff game and led by as much as 129-84 late in the fourth quarter.
“We do have to look at it and address the things that went awry for us,” said Timberwolves coach Mark Daigneault. “They really took it to us.
“They were just much more physical, much sharper, executed better, more forceful on offence. For the score to be what it was, they needed to outplay us in a lot of areas, and that’s what they did.”
Randle was benched late in game two and unhappy about it, but responded by taking out his frustrations on the Timberwolves.
“He knows not to take nothing too personal,” Edwards said of Randle. “I could see it in his eyes. He wanted his respect back, and he got it.”
Wolves dominate early
Minnesota seized a 72-41 half-time lead, with Edwards shooting 8-of-11 from the floor and producing 20 points and eight rebounds in the first half.
“We just weren’t able to bottle him up the way we had the first couple of games,” Daigneault said. “Credit him for the energy and force that he played with. He was really on it early.”
The Timberwolves led by as much as 68-33 in the first half and set a club record for playoff points in a half with 72. They scored 13 points off 10 forced turnovers in the first half, while the Thunder shot 12-of-40.
“The biggest thing is they came out and played with more force than we did,” Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren said. “Wherever they wanted to go, they got there. They didn’t let us stop them.”
Edwards scored 16 points in the first quarter, outproducing the Thunder as the Timberwolves seized their biggest lead of the series to that point at 34-14.
“Our intensity, from the first minute of the game, we set a tone,” Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert said.
“Everyone came out with the mindset to be physical. We did a good job staying with it consistently through the whole game.”
In the second half, Oklahoma City began with an 11-2 run, but the Timberwolves answered with a 10-0 spurt and went on to grab a 103-61 lead as the Thunder sent their starters to the bench late in the third quarter.
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