Game ID: 42400314
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Monday, May 26, 2025 at 8:30 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIN 30 27 28 41 126OKC 37 28 25 38 128
MIN vs OKC ScoutingMIN vs OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
MIN availability going into 5/14 · 1 day's restOUT Clark missed 2 since 5/10, out tonight
OUT Dillingham missed 10 since 4/13, out tonight
MIN availability going into 5/20 · 5 days' restOUT Clark missed 3 since 5/10, returns tonight: 6 min (52% of 12)
OUT Dillingham missed 11 since 4/13, returns tonight: 2 min (20% of 10)
NEW McDaniels 32 to 39 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 5/22 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/08 after 5, 5 min since (40% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 2 min since (20% of 10)
NEW Randle 33 to 38 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 5/24 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/20 after 3, 6 min since (52% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 2 min since (20% of 10)
NEW Randle 33 to 38 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 5/26 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/20 after 3, 8 min since (63% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 5 min since (48% of 10)
MIN availability going into 5/28 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/20 after 3, 8 min since (63% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 5 min since (48% of 10)
OKC availability going into 5/18 · 2 days' restOUT K. Williams missed 4 since 5/09, returns tonight: 8 min (52% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/07 after 2, 7 min since (49% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/20 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 8 min since (52% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 4 min since (30% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/22 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 9 min since (58% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 3 min since (24% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/24 · 1 day's restOUT Jay. Williams missed 2 since 5/20, returns tonight: 17 min (120% of 14)
BACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 6 min since (42% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 3 min since (24% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/26 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 8 min since (55% of 15)
BACK Jay. Williams back 5/24 after 2, 17 min since (120% of 14)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 7 min since (52% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/28 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 9 min since (61% of 15)
BACK Jay. Williams back 5/24 after 2, 9 min since (60% of 14)
OKC availability going into 6/05 · 7 days' restBACK Jay. Williams back 5/24 after 2, 8 min since (52% of 14)
OKC availability going into 6/08 · 2 days' restBACK Jay. Williams back 5/24 after 2, 8 min since (52% of 14)
OKC availability going into 6/11 · 2 days' restBACK Jay. Williams back 5/24 after 2, 6 min since (43% of 14)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Randle at 24 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and OKC minus-6 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 10. Call it Minnesota 113, OKC 112, OKC keeping it close.
5/14 vs GSW 121-110 — MIN notes
MIN won 121-110. MIN shot 63% (49 of 78) to GSW's 43%, 13 of 31 from three, and got to the line 15 times to GSW's 30. Randle led with 29 (13 of 18, 2 of 6 from three); Edwards added 22, Gobert 17. The hinge was Q2, 32-24: a lead of 7 became 15, and the lead reached 25. Gobert was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
5/20 @ OKC 88-114 — MIN notes
MIN lost 88-114. MIN shot 35% (29 of 83) to OKC's 50%, 15 of 51 from three. MIN turned it over 17 times to OKC's 12, and OKC turned those into 13 steals. Randle led with 28 (9 of 13, 5 of 6 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Edwards added 18. Q1 was theirs, 23-20, but the other 3 periods went 94-65 against them. Edwards's -23 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/22 @ OKC 103-118 — MIN notes
MIN lost 103-118. MIN shot 41% (36 of 87) to OKC's 50%, 11 of 39 from three. MIN turned it over 14 times to OKC's 6, and OKC turned those into 9 steals. Edwards led with 32 (12 of 26, 1 of 9 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); McDaniels added 22, Alexander-Walker 17. Q4 was theirs, 32-25, the deficit cut from 22 to 15, but the other 3 periods went 93-71 against them. DiVincenzo's -27 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/24 vs OKC 143-101 — MIN notes
MIN won 143-101. MIN shot 57% (55 of 96) to OKC's 41%, 20 of 40 from three. The glass went 50-31 for them. Edwards led with 30 (12 of 17, 5 of 8 from three); Randle added 24, Shannon Jr. 15. The hinge was Q1, 34-14: from level to 20 ahead, and the lead reached 45. Randle was the night's best plus/minus at +38.
5/26 vs OKC 126-128 — MIN notes
MIN lost 126-128. MIN shot 51% (43 of 84) to OKC's 51%, 18 of 41 from three, and went to the line 28 times to OKC's 21 — 22 points from the stripe to their 16. MIN turned it over 21 times to OKC's 14, and OKC turned those into 14 steals. Alexander-Walker led with 23 (9 of 15, 5 of 8 from three); McDaniels added 22, DiVincenzo 21. Q3 was theirs, 28-25, the deficit cut from 8 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 103-98 against them.
5/28 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 24 and Randle at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it OKC 116, Minnesota 111.
5/18 vs DEN 125-93 — OKC notes
OKC won 125-93. OKC shot 49% (47 of 96) to DEN's 39%, 12 of 39 from three. OKC turned it over 9 times to DEN's 22. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 35 (12 of 19, 3 of 4 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Jal. Williams added 24, Holmgren 13. The hinge was Q2, 39-20: OKC came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 14, and the lead reached 43. Caruso was the night's best plus/minus at +40.
5/20 vs MIN 114-88 — OKC notes
OKC won 114-88. OKC shot 50% (41 of 82) to MIN's 35%, 11 of 21 from three. OKC turned it over 12 times to MIN's 17. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (10 of 27, 0 of 4 from three, 11 of 14 at the line); Jal. Williams added 19, Holmgren 15. The hinge was Q4, 38-22: a lead of 10 became 26. OKC trailed 44-48 at the half and won the second half 70-40. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
5/22 vs MIN 118-103 — OKC notes
OKC won 118-103. OKC shot 50% (45 of 90) to MIN's 41%, 9 of 33 from three. OKC turned it over 6 times to MIN's 14. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 38 (12 of 21, 13 of 15 at the line); Jal. Williams added 26, Holmgren 22. The hinge was Q3, 35-21: a lead of 8 became 22. Dort was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
5/24 @ MIN 101-143 — OKC notes
OKC lost 101-143. OKC shot 41% (35 of 86) to MIN's 57%, 14 of 44 from three. The glass went 31-50 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 14 (4 of 13, 2 of 5 from three); Mitchell added 14, Jal. Williams 13. Q4 was theirs, 31-36, but the other 3 periods went 107-70 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander's -32 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/26 @ MIN 128-126 — OKC notes
OKC won 128-126. OKC shot 51% (48 of 95) to MIN's 51%, 16 of 37 from three, and got to the line 21 times to MIN's 28. OKC turned it over 14 times to MIN's 21. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 40 (13 of 30, 2 of 7 from three, 12 of 14 at the line); Jal. Williams added 34, Holmgren 21. The hinge was Q1, 37-30: from level to 7 ahead. Caruso was the night's best plus/minus at +8.
5/28 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 24 and Randle at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it OKC 116, Minnesota 111.
6/05 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 22 a game. 7 days' rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Siakam at 26 and Haliburton at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (92 straight). 4 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it OKC 117, Indiana 111.
6/08 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. 2 days' rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 27 free throws a game; Siakam at 22 and Haliburton at 19 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (93 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Indiana giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 11 and the glass, where Indiana has been minus-1 a night and OKC minus-7. Call it OKC 117, Indiana 112.
6/11 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 22 and Haliburton at 18 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (94 straight), Walker (2 straight). 2 days' rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 116, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Indiana giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it Indiana 116, OKC 115, OKC keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MINAE A. Edwards
DD D. DiVincenzo
JM J. McDaniels
JR J. Randle
MC M. Conley
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RG R. Gobert
TS T. Shannon Jr.
OKCAC A. Caruso
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IH I. Hartenstein
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
MIN/OKC 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
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
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
Thunder bounce back to beat T-wolves 128-126 to take 3-1 lead behind SGA's 40-point game
MINNEAPOLIS -- — Being blown out the game before didn't sit well with Oklahoma City.
The young Thunder moved within one win of the NBA Finals with a championship response.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a steely performance befitting the NBA MVP and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped back from a 42-point loss by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-126 in Game 4 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.
“I tried not to worry too much about scoring or making plays or whatever it was,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I tried to just lose myself in the competition, be aggressive, pick my spots.”
Jalen Williams scored 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and Chet Holmgren added 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in a statement game in his hometown that helped the Thunder stave off several pushes by the Wolves to tie the series.
Gilgeous-Alexander went 12 for 14 from the free-throw line, making a pair with 6.1 seconds left to stretch the lead back to three. The Thunder fouled Anthony Edwards with 3.5 seconds to go, and his intentional miss of the second free throw to try to keep possession was tracked down in the corner by Gilgeous-Alexander and flung out of bounds to drain the clock.
The Wolves had one more desperation inbounds pass from half-court with 0.3 seconds remaining that Williams grabbed to send the Thunder back to Oklahoma City for a close-out Game 5 on Wednesday.
“They outplayed us, outrebounded us, got more of the 50-50 balls,” said Edwards, who was limited to 16 points. “Wanted it a little bit more.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (23 points) and Donte DiVincenzo (21 points) each went 5 for 8 from 3-point range to lead a second straight onslaught of bench offense to keep the Wolves close all night, but the Thunder always had an answer for the mini-runs they managed. They trailed for only 36 seconds, all stretches in the first quarter.
“Give their role guys credit," coach Mark Daigneault said. "The shot-making was ridiculous, so for us to overcome that on the road the way we did was a great team win.”
Any intrigue about how the Thunder would respond from Game 3 quickly disappeared when Williams started hitting from deep to lead an 11-for-17 shooting start from the floor. The Thunder grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, too.
The Thunder, for all their dominance, have shown a hint of vulnerability away from Paycom Center, where they’re 7-1 with a plus-191 scoring differential this postseason. But Luguentz Dort helped bottle up Edwards and Julius Randle (five points on 1-for-7 shooting), and the Thunder forced 23 turnovers to help offset those 64 bench points.
“Uphill battle," DiVincenzo said, "but everybody is sticking together, understanding that you try to look at this game and grab any sort of hope.”