No time to celebrate after 42-point win
Moments after a 42-point win, the Minnesota Timberwolves were determined to forget all about it.
Such is life in the NBA playoffs, as the Timberwolves hammered the Oklahoma City Thunder 143-101 in game 3 of the Western Conference finals yesterday in Minneapolis.
The Timberwolves pulled within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series with game 4 coming up at 12.30pm today.
"You"ve got to erase this one,"" Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards said.
"This one is over. I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is going to come out and bring energy and be ready to go and they"re going to try to win game 4. We"ve got to come out and exceed their energy and try to get a win and go back for game 5. We"ll be ready.""
The Timberwolves certainly were ready in game 3.
"Energy"" and "force"" were the most common words among Thunder coaches and players after the loss.
The Timberwolves came out desperate to avoid a 3-0 series deficit, and after they built an early lead, they had the confidence and momentum to prevent the Thunder from gaining ground.
"They definitely landed their punches and we had a really hard time getting into the game,"" Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Thunder big man Chet Holmgren agreed.
"We"ve got to equal that force and be better,"" Holmgren said.
"It"s not complicated. Wherever they wanted to go, they got there.""
Both teams have realistic hopes of reaching the NBA finals, and the Timberwolves helped their cause.
Edwards scored 30 points on 12-for-17 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds.
Julius Randle added 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting for Minnesota, and rookie Terrence Shannon jun scored 15 points off the bench.
For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 points despite missing nine of 13 shots from the field for Oklahoma City. Ajay Mitchell scored 14 points off the bench, and Jalen Williams contributed 13 points.
The Timberwolves set a franchise record for most points scored in a playoff game. — Field Level Media
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It's 8:30am on a fresh Durham morning and Suzie Bates, by her own admission, isn't quite awake yet. It's not that it was a late night for the 37-year-old White Fern, but instead it was a long, long day. Bates and her teammates played a 50 over match away against Lancashire the day before, at the seaside town of Blackpool. On a good day it's a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Durham, situated in the north-west of England, and the best part of 200 kms. It was the fourth away fixture Bates has played in the Metro Bank One Day Cup since arriving in mid-April, so she's becoming familiar with the nation's motorways. 'It's been very busy. We've had two games a week and there's been a lot of travel. The girls said we've spent 53 hours on the bus so far. I did try and ask how many miles that was, but they hadn't worked that out,' Bates says. The side travel to fixtures the night before but then look to get home after the game has finished, so they can sleep in their own beds. 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