Late Shot Selection Dooms Thunder Against Wolves as OKC Drops Second Consecutive Game
The Minnesota Timberwolves took down the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, once again taking over the top spot in the Western Conference.
The Wolves' victory evens the season series between the two squads after OKC had won the last two consecutive meetings.
Similar to the first and third matchups between Minnesota and Oklahoma City, Monday's contest was a low-scoring defensive battle that went down to the wire.
With two minutes and 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down two free throws to give OKC a one-point lead. After a triple from Jaden McDaniels on the next possession, however, the Thunder trailed by two once again.
Down 99-97 with two and a half minutes left in the game, the Thunder began to fire 3-point shots from deep rather than slow down their offense to find better shots. While Oklahoma City had shot well from beyond the arc up to that point, at such a key moment in the game, finding a higher percentage shot may have been a better offensive game plan.
First, Chet Holmgren missed a 3-pointer that led to an Anthony Edwards dunk that put the Wolves up by four. On the ensuing Thunder possession, Jalen Williams tried a 3-pointer, but couldn't get his shot to fall either.
After a missed jumper from Edwards, OKC got the ball back down by four with around 75 seconds left in the game. Once again, instead of working the ball around the court and trying to find a better shot, Kenrich Williams fired up yet another triple that bounced off the rim and into the hands of Edwards.
"We have no excuses to make," Williams said after the game. "Every night you've got to come out and perform no matter how tired you are or how many games we've played... You learn from stuff like this."
While Oklahoma City played well and even had a good shooting performance against Minnesota, their shot selection in the final two and a half minutes of the game may have cost them on Monday night.
If the Thunder were able to move the ball around the floor and create better shots in the game's final two and a half minutes, there is a chance they could have tied the contest and limited the Wolves' late possessions.
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