The Oklahoma City Thunder’s brutal playoff blowout (the worst in their franchise’s history) was painful, no doubt.
But the reasons behind it? Pretty straightforward.
“It’s not complicated,” said Chet Holmgren. “Wherever they wanted to go, they got there. They did what they wanted to do. We didn’t stop them.”
That about sums it up. The Timberwolves controlled the game from the start, and the Thunder never really found their footing, OKC coach Mark Daigneault admitted.
“They kept their foot on the gas tonight, and we were just never able to give ourselves any traction in game,” said head coach Daigneault said. “I thought their defensive pressure and physicality definitely stood out early. They were definitely throwing the first punch in the game.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had been dominant through the first two matchups, ran into a wall.
He ended the night hitting just 4 of 13 shots, gave up four turnovers, and barely got to the line — only four free throw attempts after taking 29 in the previous two games combined.
“We were taking the ball out of the net for the majority of the game, so they get back and can set their defense,” Gilgeous-Alexander explained. “And I don’t care who you were in the NBA — against a good defense, it’s hard to score if they’re set. In the past two games, it hasn’t been that. We’ve been able to get stops and run and play. When you take the ball out of the net every time down, it’s tough regardless.”
Defensively, the Thunder were a shadow of the team that had earned the league’s top spot in that category.
They let Minnesota shoot a scorching 57.3 percent overall and 50 percent from beyond the arc. To make it worse, OKC only forced 10 turnovers — their lowest mark in the playoffs so far.
“You get punched, you get back up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s about responding, and that’s what the next challenge is. We got punched in the mouth tonight. Next game, we’re either going to get back up or not [and] we’re going to lose the game. We’ve got a decision to make.”
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