Timberwolves Rally Late for Critical Win at Thunder
The Minnesota Timberwolves found themselves down by as many as 25 points on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are currently the number-one seed in the Western Conference. Everything was going right for the Thunder, and everything was going wrong for the Timberwolves. At least for the first three-quarters of the game.
Minnesota entered the fourth quarter down 22 points. It looked like the Thunder would win, and another team’s post-game interview was waiting for them. But the Timberwolves were not ready to give up. In the final 3:41 of the fourth quarter, Minnesota went on a 16-0 run to send the game to overtime.
These two playoff teams went back and forth in overtime. In the final seconds of the game, MVP-front runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was looking to take the lead with a lay-up. But Anthony Edwards went up and blocked his shot, ultimately completing the improbable comeback for the Timberwolves.
SGA finished with a game-high 39 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Jalen Williams added 27 points, but that was not enough to hold onto the game. Jaden McDaniels led the Timberwolves with 27 points, Naz Reid with 22 points, and Anthony Edwards with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists.
The Oklahoma City Thunder remains atop the Western Conference, sitting 8.5 games ahead of the hot Denver Nuggets. This did not hurt the Thunder too bad, but with Denver winning 9 of the last 10 games and looking to take home-court advantage, the Thunder will need to stay focused and continue to dominate on both sides of the ball when playoff time comes.
The Minnesota Timberwolves currently sit at the seventh seed in the Western Conference and are looking to get out of the play-in. They are behind the Los Angeles Clippers, who hold the sixth seed, but are only 0.5 games ahead of the Timberwolves. With the season-ending soon, teams are making their final playoff pushes to avoid the play-in tournament and be locked into the playoffs. With the Western Conference being stacked with talent, the margin for error is slim. The sixth seed and tenth seed are separated by just two games. Teams will need to lock in if they want to get the opportunity to compete for the championship.
Geoffrey Huggins
DiSportsPhotoAgency
Writer
