Spanish
Chicago.- With their backs against the wall after losing the first two games of the series, the Minnesota Timberwolves showed strength this Saturday at home and crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder 143-101, by nullifying Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Chet Holmgren, to reopen the NBA Western Conference finals.
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It was a monologue by the Wolves from start to finish. Chris Finch's team led 72-41 at halftime and reached a 42-point lead in the third quarter against a Thunder team that took their stars off the court in the middle of that quarter.
Anthony Edwards started with 16 points and six of eight in field goals in a game finished with 30 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals in 29 minutes.
He connected five triples in a true Wolves festival, who scored practically from all positions and who connected a total of 20 three-pointers.
Julius Randle scored 24 points and Jaden McDaniels contributed ten points and six rebounds, but the Wolves also had three substitutes with double digits in scoring. Terrence Shannon scored fifteen points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker contributed twelve, and Naz Reid achieved ten and eight rebounds.
The Wolves' bench contributed 66 points to OKC's 52.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (l), center Chet Holmgren (c) and forward Jalen Williams (r) react during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals.
And if the Wolves' offensive numbers were amazing, so was the defensive aggressiveness that neutralized MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander. 'SGA' finished with fourteen points (4 of 13 in shots), Jalen Williams scored thirteen, and Chet Holmgren did not exceed ten.
Minnesota sealed a 14-0 run in the first quarter that left the Thunder reeling, who were already down by twenty points at 34-14. The home team was above 50% in both field goals and three-pointers, and their lead exceeded 30 points in the second quarter.
The 72-41 of the first half already had the Wolves' victory on track.
The Thunder showed signs of life at the beginning of the third period, with an 11-2 run that brought them closer to 52-74, but it was just an anecdote. The Wolves responded with a 12-0 run and kept their foot on the gas until a humiliating 103-61.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort (L) and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (R) fight for position during the l
OKC, without starters in the fourth period
In the fourth period, with Gilgeous Alexander, Holmgren and the other OKC leaders sitting on the bench and already thinking about game four, Minnesota's lead reached 45 points at 129-84.
Chris Finch's team changed the series' inertia and narrowed the gap to 1-2 to regain confidence for the fourth game, scheduled for this Monday, again at the Target Center.
The winner of this series will face one between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks, who are facing each other in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers took a giant step towards their first NBA Finals in 25 years after winning the first two away games, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Finals will begin on June 5th.
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