The Wolves did not go far from leaving the Lakers during the first “play-in”, they did not miss their appointment in the second, against the Thunder. Karl-Anthony Towns, excellent, and his gang got their hands on the game quickly and, as the game progressed, they squeezed harder and harder.
They made the difference in the third quarter, against a team that had no more solutions. The final gap is significant (120-95), but in the end logical as the Wolves have evolved a notch above the young talents of Oklahoma City.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
The Wolves defense. Superb collective performance of Wolves in defense. The rotations were well assured, the rebound controlled and few faults sanctioned the aggressiveness of Chris Finch’s men. The Thunder lost 17 balls and often broke their teeth near the circle against “KAT” and Rudy Gobert.
Open shots missed by the Thunder. Minnesota’s defense was certainly excellent, but with good ball circulation in the first period, Oklahoma City players had open shots at 3-pts. A number, more than enough to stay in the game and demoralize Gobert and Wolves. But there were too many failures and this imprecision fed the defense, which was becoming more and more stifling.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Karl Anthony Towns. Man of the match, for sure. His penetrations often flirted with the passage in force, but he was able to put the baskets, sometimes with the fault. With 28 points at 11/16 to shoot, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, and without overdoing it, the interior first launched his team before totally dominating this meeting.
✅ The lieutenants of “KAT”. Kyle Anderson, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, all were invaluable at some point in the game. Anderson started well with his baskets, when Edwards took over in the second half, hitting accurately, without showing too much. Conley was clean to find his teammates and Gobert weighed in the second period and was not clumsy at free throws (9/14). A “KAT” at this level supported by such good players and everything becomes easier for Wolves.
⛔ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. The first did what he could, especially in the second half when he received an involuntary nudge from Gobert. The right cheekbone cut, he mainly scored points on free throws (12 of his 22 points). He missed a lot of small shots from under three yards and didn’t weigh like the leader he is. The second completely missed his match, with 6 points and 2/13 to shoot. Far, far away from his game against the Pelicans. Without them, the Thunder could not have hoped for better.
THE FOLLOWING
Wolves will travel to Denver for Game 1 of the first round on Sunday night.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
