The Minnesota Timberwolves blew the Oklahoma City Thunder 143-101 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Timberwolves were nothing more than a must-see game, kicking out 2-0 in the series before Saturday night.
Chris Finch’s team responded in the best possible way as it rose 20 points (34-14) by the end of the first quarter.
Anthony Edwards (30 points) and Julius Randle (24 points) kept their championship dreams alive by leading their home team to victory at target centers.
Former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has since identified the Timberwolves “cheat code” against the OKC Thunder.
Malone chose the important thing the Timberwolves did in Game 3. This will need to be reproduced for the rest of the series to advance to the NBA Finals.
“Well, cheat codes aren’t beating themselves,” Malone explained in a postgame analysis on Saturday night.
“Back in the regular season, they beat OKC twice. They beat them tonight. And one of the key stats for these three wins is that they didn’t beat themselves.
“OKC is the number one defense. They hand you over. They lead the league in steel. So you know that you can’t burn their breaks and what happened in games 1 and 2.
“That wasn’t tonight. They forced OKC to play on the half court. They were more aggressive against Shy (Gilgauss Alexander). They were more trained against Shy.
“And once again, their benches have been really good for them all year round… Naz Reed, Donte Divinzo, Nickaire Alexander Walker.”
The Timberwolves score 143 points and may struggle to beat the lightning with 42, but they can win Game 4 as long as they don’t commit unnecessary sales.
Malone praised Finch for making a brave decision in his rotation in Game 3, which paid off better than he wanted.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 15 points in just 13 minutes and outscored Gilgeous-Alexander from the bench after barely playing in games 1 and 2.
“We have to give Chris Finch a lot of credit,” Malone explained. “He implemented a new player in the rotation and dumped Terrence Shannon Jr., and paid a dividend tonight.
“So they’re not happy. They’ll come back and protect their home courts and OKC knows they’re ready for Game 4.”