Minneapolis — Anthony Edwards led the re-energized Minnesota Timberwolves to a 143-101 victory over Oklahoma City in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday night, reducing the Thunder’s series lead to 2-1.
Julius Randle added 24 points, and rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. had 15 points in 13 minutes to highlight the Wolves’ big bench boost, which caused all kinds of cracks in the Thunder’s NBA-best defense after struggling to solve it in the two lopsided road losses.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had only 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting with four turnovers and was replaced with a 38-point deficit and 4:25 remaining in the third quarter, as Thunder coach Mark Daigneault conceded on a night when his team was never closer than 22 points after the second quarter.
Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night in Minneapolis.
The Thunder’s travel north and venue change resulted in a sharp drop in shooting, as they made exactly half of their attempts from the floor in the first two games and went only 12 for 40 in the first half on Saturday.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the newly minted NBA MVP, went more than 13 minutes between baskets while the Target Center crowd booed him on every touch and taunted him at the line with the chant, “Free throw merchant!” in reference to the widely held belief that he draws an inordinate number of foul shots.
The Thunder anticipated a strong response from the Wolves after winning the first two games of the series by a wide margin. This was a bone-jarring counterpunch from the start that kept the crowd roaring all the way to the end, with none of the half-quarter meltdowns that cost them in Oklahoma City.
Randle, who had his first off-night of the playoffs in a Game 2 performance so disjointed that he was benched for the fourth quarter, regained his fire — and his signature fadeaway.
Edwards rediscovered his 3-point shot, going 5 for 8 after shooting 1 for 9 in Game 2. He gave the quick-handed, ball-pressing Thunder a taste of what it’s like to play against themselves by converting a couple of relentless loose balls into breakaway dunks.
Over the first two games, the Wolves were outscored 69-37 in the third quarter, leaving no room for the Thunder to mount a comeback in the second half. Edwards, who was closely guarded by Isaiah Joe in the corner, found enough space to drive down the baseline and spin an up-and-under reverse layup off the glass for a 79-52 lead.