Tim Legler: The Timberwolves THROTTLED the Thunder in Game 3 👀 | SportsCenter

Tim Legler: The Timberwolves THROTTLED the Thunder in Game 3 👀 | SportsCenter

Look, if there was any question how the Wolves would respond at home after two dismal performances in OKC, we got that answer real quick in a hurry, especially Anthony Edwards, 16 points in that first quarter. What changed for them? I just thought there was the appropriate level of energy you have to have against Oklahoma City. I didn’t see that in games one and two. I that meant there was no swagger there. The swagger was there from the beginning. Their best player came out, got them started, as you mentioned with Anthony Edwards. I thought that set the tone for their entire team. You know, you tend to relax when you know your best players in a good place and his aggressiveness getting out in the open floor. His first two dunks of the series he got in that first quarter and his step back three was working that dual threat. Anthony Edwards gave us that. Another thing though I think that mattered, Michael. Yeah. In in their zone defense that they played in game two. I thought it put a passive mentality into their heads. This is a team full of athletes. They’ve got size. They’ve got lateral speed. You might not be able to beat Oklahoma City in a series, but I think the best bet is to turn them loose against those guys. Man up, take the challenge, use your activity and your athleticism. They did that tonight. The activity level was off the charts, and I thought it really kind of throttled Oklahoma City. They just did not get any rhythm whatsoever in this game. So, let’s go to the other side cuz you mentioned how when your best guy is playing well, you feel more confident. The Thunder didn’t have that. Their best player, the league MVP, four for 13 in this game was Shay Giljis Alexander. Obviously, that has to change in game four, but what was what led to that here in game three? Well, there’s no doubt that they had him targeted as a priority. We’re not going to let you come down and get these high ball screens, these brush screens, and just eat us up right down the center of the floor, getting to your sweet spots, which means either a pullup jumper or getting to the foul line. Four free throw attempts in this game. He had 28 in the first two games. So they played him without fouling, but more importantly, they just committed extra bodies to his driving paths. Fourth kickouts. Oklahoma City is not a high volume three-point shooting team. I think Minnesota made a determination. We’re not watching that anymore because the 38 he got in game two was easy. Everything about it was literally looked like a practice performance. I think they saw the film. They took it personally. They were going to load up on Shay on the edges of the lane, force the kickouts, get close outs with a hand up, and they were count on the fact that Oklahoma City was not gonna make enough threes to beat him. Now, the game got so out of hand in the second quarter. We’ll never really know, but the tone was set how they wanted to approach this game. It was very effective. And as we are saying, they’re back in the series.

Tim Legler joins SportsCenter to react to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 143-101 win vs. the Oklahoma City in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals to cut OKC’s series lead to 2-1.

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