Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN | Game ID: 42400313
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIN 34 38 35 36 143OKC 14 27 29 31 101
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Anthony Edwards and the Wolves strike back with 143-101 win to cut Thunder's West finals lead to 2-1
MINNEAPOLIS -- — Anthony Edwards was determined to keep Minnesota's spirits up, from the flight home after a frustrating trip to Oklahoma City into a crucial game in these Western Conference finals.
Positive energy is never hard for him to find.
Edwards had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists in just three quarters for the Timberwolves in a 143-101 victory on Saturday night in Game 3 that cut the Thunder's lead in the series to 2-1.
“Just ultimate pressure on the ball,” Edwards said, “and shoot it as much as I can.”
Julius Randle added 24 points and rookie Terrence Shannon Jr . had 15 points in 13 minutes to highlight a big boost from the bench for the Wolves, who caused all kinds of cracks in the Thunder's NBA -best defense after struggling to solve it in the two lopsided losses on the road.
“Their force on that end of the floor was better than our physicality and pressure, things that we typically do well," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting with four turnovers, subbed out with a 38-point deficit and 4:25 to go in the third quarter as Daigneault conceded on a night when his team was never closer than 22 points after early in the second quarter.
“It felt like we just eased into the game, and they didn’t,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They blitzed us pretty early, and then we were never able to get back because of it.”
Game 4 is in Minneapolis on Monday night.
The travel north and venue shift triggered a sharp drop in shooting for the Thunder, who made exactly half of their attempts from the floor over the first two games and went just 12 for 40 in the first half on Saturday.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the newly minted NBA MVP , went more than 13 minutes of game time between baskets while the Target Center crowd loudly booed him on every touch and taunted him at the line with the chant, “Free throw merchant!” in a nod to the popular notion he draws an inordinate amount of fouls.
Randle, who had his first off night of this postseason in a Game 2 performance so disjointed he was benched for the fourth quarter, had his fire back — and his signature fadeaway.
Edwards rediscovered his 3-point shot, going 5 for 8 after shooting just 1 of 9 in Game 2. He gave the quick-handed, ball-pressuring Thunder a taste of what it’s like to play against themselves with a couple of relentless pursuits of loose balls he turned into breakaway dunks.
Outscored 69-37 in the third quarter over the first two games, the Wolves made sure to avoid another post-halftime malaise. Edwards, tightly guarded by Isaiah Joe in the corner, found enough space to drive along the baseline and spin an up-and-under reverse layup off the glass for a 79-52 lead.
“That’s what we need him to do, and when he does it, it takes us to another level,” coach Chris Finch said.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAC A. Caruso
AM A. Mitchell
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
DJ D. Jones
IH I. Hartenstein
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
OD O. Dieng
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
MINAE A. Edwards
DD D. DiVincenzo
JC J. Clark
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. Minott
JR J. Randle
LG L. Garza
LM L. Miller
MC M. Conley
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RD R. Dillingham
RG R. Gobert
TS T. Shannon Jr.
OKC/MIN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur