Thunder bounce back to beat T-wolves 128-126 to take 3-1 lead behind SGA's 40-point game
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — 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.
Advertisement
'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.
Advertisement
'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.
Advertisement
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.'
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Dave Campbell, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Women's College World Series: Texas stuns defending champ Oklahoma, Texas Tech beats UCLA
The Women's College World Series continued on Saturday with a matchup between Oklahoma and Texas. (Brett Rojo-Imagn Images) A busy Women's College World Series continued on Saturday with two thrilling games. A pair of narrow wins, both upsets, kept Texas and Texas Tech flying high, while UCLA and Oklahoma find themselves in some hot water. Texas 4, Oklahoma 2 Suddenly, the road to a fifth straight NCAA softball title for Oklahoma got steeper. The No. 2-seeded Sooners were defeated 4-2 by No. 6 Texas on Saturday in a matchup of two of the top teams in the country. Advertisement It was the first time Texas had beaten the Sooners in the state of Oklahoma since 2011 — and its first victory over OU in the women's CWS. The Sooners beat the Longhorns in the 2022 and 2024 CWS finals. The Longhorns struck first with two runs in the first inning. Sophomore outfielder Kayden Henry got the first run by stealing second and later stealing home. Oklahoma came alive in the second inning, scoring two of its own and capitalizing on a Texas error. That changed in the fifth inning, when Texas took a 3-2 lead on a solo homer from Henry. Texas added to its lead with another solo homer in the sixth inning, this time from first baseman Joley Mitchell. Advertisement Oklahoma had one more chance to rally, but Longhorns ace Teagan Kavan struck out the final two batters to close out the complete game and finish with eight strikeouts. Texas Tech 3, UCLA 1 It was another defense-heavy win for No. 12 Texas Tech, which defeated No. 9 UCLA with a victory that came down to the final innings. After four scoreless frames, the Red Raiders finally broke the drought in wild fashion: by stealing home plate. Pinch runner Makayla Garcia pulled off the steal to give Texas Tech the lead in the fifth inning. The Bruins quickly hit back, with shortstop Kaniya Bragg hitting a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. But another solo homer, this time from Red Raiders shortstop Hailey Toney, gave Texas Tech the lead in the sixth. Advertisement The Red Raiders iced the win in the seventh with another run. The victory was buoyed by Texas Tech ace Nijaree Canady, who notched seven strikeouts — including one in the final inning — while pitching the complete seven innings. UCLA and Oklahoma will have one more chance to stay alive, playing Tennessee and Oregon, respectively, in win-or-go-home elimination games. Texas and Texas Tech, meanwhile, advanced to the semifinals where they will play the winners of those games.
Fox News
9 minutes ago
- Fox News
Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix preview
Alex Palou will look to build on his momentum from last week's victory in the Indy 500 with a big win later today. #IndyCar #AlexPalou #Racing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit Jeffrey Petz
New York Times
14 minutes ago
- New York Times
Thomas Bryant emerges as unlikely hero to help Pacers into NBA Finals
INDIANAPOLIS – Myles Turner was on the mic, speaking to a euphoric crowd that if it were allowed, would've stayed there all night. The Pacers had just knocked off the New York Knicks, 125-108, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to advance to the NBA finals for the first time in 25 years. And Turner, the longest-tenured Pacer, was spilling his heart to the city. Advertisement He spoke about embracing adversity, being the underdog and fighting for respect. 'People don't watch us,' Turner said on Saturday. All the while, his teammate, Thomas Bryant, could barely watch him. The Pacers backup center, donning an Eastern Conference champ T-shirt and hat, was doubled over on the scorer's table at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as Turner gave his speech. Tears ran down Bryant's face while he pounded his fist on the table in celebration, but his personal precipitation wasn't just birthed from joy. Those tears? They came from pain and pride. Trials and triumphs. Doubt and deliverance. 'There's a lot of times when you have to believe when nobody else even believes,' Bryant said in the locker room afterward. 'Even sometimes you have to believe it when you don't even believe it. You have to make yourself believe it and just stay the course. 'There were times I never thought I'd see the court again.' Nearly six months ago, Bryant was an afterthought, receiving 13 DNPs on a middling Miami Heat team. But in light of Indiana's backup centers, James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, both tearing their Achilles early in the season, Indiana acquired Bryant in December for a 2031 second-round pick swap. The hope was for Bryant to bolster the Pacers frontcourt and keep the team humming whenever its starting center, Turner, needed a breather. On Saturday night, however, Bryant was an unlikely hero, totaling a playoff career-high 11 points, three rebounds and one block in in 13 high-energy minutes to help the Pacers return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. 'It's a lot of emotions, man, just going through the past year of just the ups and downs of the NBA,' Bryant said, choking up again. 'Playing, not playing, being totally out of the lineup, getting spare minutes here and there. And then, getting traded and not really knowing what the future might hold, but you just know you wanted to come contribute to a team and try to help them win in any way possible.' Advertisement Bryant got the biggest opportunity of his career to do just that in Game 6, and he delivered in catalytic fashion. After Turner picked up his fourth foul at the 10:14 mark of the third quarter, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle was forced to rely on his bench and his only other healthy center: Bryant. Four seconds after subbing in for Turner, Bryant blocked a layup attempt by Knicks forward OG Anunoby, which sparked a fast break. On the other end, Pascal Siakam, who scored a game-high 31 points, converted an and-1 layup while falling to the floor. Bryant was the first player to help him up, but before eagerly pulling Siakam to his feet, Bryant screamed and flexed in his face to celebrate the acrobatic finish. 'You don't gotta worry about T.B.; T.B. is always gonna bring that energy,' said teammate Aaron Nesmith, who was trailing the play. 'I've never met somebody whether it be up, down, rainy, sunny – he's always bringing that energy and that's a skill. That's a skill for real.' Bryant continued making timely plays by drilling a corner 3 with about eight minutes left in the third quarter, his second of the night, to push Indiana's lead up to 11 points. He high-fived a few courtside fans as he ran back on defense and repeated the celebration a few plays later when he drilled his third corner 3-pointer that put Indiana ahead by 15 points. This time, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau called a timeout for his team to regroup, and Bryant probably needed the stoppage, as well. As the 6-foot-10 center ran back to the huddle, he jumped to chest bump teammate Quenton Jackson and roared to the crowd while his emotions bubbled over. Pacers assistant Lloyd Pierce pulled Bryant aside, reminding him that he should view his energy like money and he can't spend it all in one place. Bryant heeded Pierce's advice, though it was not an easy request after seeing his role change drastically through the series. The 27-year-old began the Eastern Conference finals as the backup center, but poor showings in Games 1 and 2 led to him being benched in Games 3 and 4 in favor of Tony Bradley, who initially joined the Pacers on a 10-day contract in March. It wasn't until Bradley strained his hip in Game 5 that Bryant regained his spot in the rotation and gave the Pacers a jolt in Game 6. Siakam called Bryant's resurgent performance a reward from 'the basketball Gods;' Carlisle credited Bryant's 'indomitable spirit;' and Turner simply thanked his teammate for his professionalism. Advertisement 'Man, I've been playing against Thomas since high school,' Turner said. 'He's always had that enthusiasm, that energy and that skill. … And he didn't complain. He didn't pout. If you watch any film, bro, he's the first one up on the bench (cheering), first one gassing us up, talking to us and getting us right. Me going down in foul trouble, he got his opportunity (Saturday) and he didn't look back.' Bryant, a New York native and former Indiana University star, acknowledged that it was serendipitous to send the Knicks home with a notable performance off the bench as a Pacer. He never dreamed of that moment because, candidly, there were days even recently when he prayed for 'just one minute' to prove himself. Bryant validated his worth Saturday, and he's hungry to solidify it even more against Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals. He's been on this stage before, winning a championship with the Nuggets in 2022-23, but Bryant played just 29 seconds during that 20-game playoff run and only appeared at the very end of Game 3 of the finals. He hopes to play a lot more in his second go round, though he vowed to be prepared regardless. 'A lot of people – when things go left or they don't get their way or they don't get the playing time they want – they say they got 'screwed over,'' Bryant said. 'But that's not always true. You still gotta stay resilient through it. I hope that people realize that I stayed resilient, and because of that I was able to contribute and accomplish things that other people never thought I'd do.'
