The Athletic has live coverage of Thunder vs. Timberwolves Game 3 in the 2025 NBA Western Conference Finals.
OKLAHOMA CITY — There are no tried-and-true ways to determine when a team’s spirit is being broken by a superior opponent.
It could be a hopeless expression, an out-of-character choice or an emotional outburst that speaks volumes about the level of desperation being felt. And as was the case in the second half of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 118-103 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday, when all of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ frustration came spilling out as an eight-point halftime lead ballooned as big as 24 points, sometimes it’s an all-of-the-above sort of soul crusher.
Of all the moments that made it so clear that the Thunder are in complete control here, and that the Timberwolves now find themselves in danger of getting swept if they can’t find a way to handle this overwhelming Thunder defense, none was more telling than Jaden McDaniels’ shove of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander midway through the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City was up 16 at the time, with no one in the building sensing an Indiana Pacers-esque comeback like the one that captivated the basketball world in Madison Square Garden the night before. McDaniels, who is on the long list of Timberwolves defenders who have had no answer for the MVP in this series, decided it was time to give him a two-handed shove to the floor because — well, just because.
If you can’t beat’em … push ’em, apparently.
Jaden McDaniels didn’t like that Shai tried to hook his arm to draw a foul, so McDaniels shoved him to the ground 😳
McDaniels got a flagrant 1.
Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/TlVlIb7Psy
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) May 23, 2025
“I just wanted to foul him, for real,” McDaniels said afterward. “I wasn’t even mad. I just — I had fouls to use.”
The worst part, for the Timberwolves’ purposes, is that the Thunder are well aware of the mental toll they’re exacting here.
“Yeah, you can feel it,” Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 38 points and eight assists, said when asked if he felt as if the Timberwolves were caving to their pressure. “What happens is you (can) feel us string together stops. That’s what’s encouraging. And I think that’s what’s made us really good. Our team really enjoys playing defense, and finds it very fun. And when we score, stop, score, stop — the stops (are) what gets us going. We can play faster. We play confident. And (then) we’re out there running and just hooping. Us enjoying getting stops is definitely the key to that.”
As if it wasn’t obvious already that these Thunder are burrowed firmly under the Timberwolves’ skin, evidence was all over the Paycom Center in this one. Anthony Edwards was much better in Game 2, finishing with 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists and no turnovers. But his choice to not talk to the media afterward gave yet another strong sign that the Minnesota mood is quite sour at this juncture — even if the decision was tied to the league fine he endured for using profanity in an interview the day before (which brings his season-long total of fines up to $420,000).
This Timberwolves team that made quick work of the Los Angeles Lakers and (Steph Curry-less) Golden State Warriors on this playoff path, and which so many believed was more capable of challenging the Thunder than the Denver Nuggets team that fell to them in seven games in the second round, has no answers for OKC so far. There’s a different level of energy, aggressiveness, depth and cohesion coming from the Thunder, a special formula for which the Timberwolves have no executable counter. Just two games in, the Thunder have scored 53 points off turnovers while the Timberwolves have managed just 20. Of the many numerical ways to gauge this absolute meat-grinder of an OKC defense, no stat says it better than that. And of all the Thunder players who are playing a pivotal part, Lu Dort might be the mascot of this particular movement.
Amid all that unbridled joy that surrounded him in the third, with the sea of 18,203 blue-shirted fans howling with happiness as Oklahoma City pulled away, a livid Randle marched all the way to midcourt during a timeout to make sure that official Scott Foster felt every ounce of his frustration. He had just been stripped by Dort in the paint — just one of many infuriating moments that led to his outburst. And it only got worse from there.
With approximately two minutes left in the third, Randle and Dort exchanged words during a break in the action. Then, seconds after Randle had pushed Dort square in the chest, with no physical response, the Thunder veteran who had been named to his first NBA All-Defensive Team on Thursday put salt in Randle’s wound with a corner 3 on the other end (for an 86-69 lead). The mind (and body) games continued from there, with Dort (who was a game-high plus-29) dominating on all fronts.
“They’re extremely physical,” Randle said. “It’s a different kind of physicality. But, I mean, they’re very connected on the defensive end, which is great. It’s a great challenge for us, a chance for us to really test ourselves and see how we can meet that challenge … They’re just handsy, man. A lot of swipes, and all that different type of stuff. But that’s fine.”
When asked about his back-and-forth with Dort, Randle insisted he had no recollection.
“I don’t even really remember what you’re talking about, to be honest with you,” he said. “But, I mean, it’s a little bit of everybody. It’s all over the place, but it’s fine, man. I accept the challenge. I’ll meet it, and regroup and get ready for the next game.”
That’s all Minnesota can do, really, but everything we’ve seen so far leads you to believe that OKC is on its way to the NBA Finals. Minnesota’s super sixth man, Naz Reid, has been a non-factor (seven points and eight rebounds per game in this series while averaging 27.9 minutes and posting a minus-27 rating). Ditto for the Timberwolves’ four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert (3.5 points, six rebounds, one block, 25.5 minutes per game and a minus-11 mark).
Minnesota, which shot 46.8 percent in the regular season overall and 37.7 percent from three-point range, has a 38.2 percent overall mark through the first two West finals games and a 28.9 percent mark from beyond the arc against the league’s best defense. Still, Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo insists that hope remains. Game 3 in Minneapolis on Saturday will tell that tale.
“I think with the stage that we’re on, you’re going to have frustrating moments,” he told The Athletic. “It’s an emotional game and series. And I think where we’re at is, we know the blueprint. We know what we need to do. We know what they want to do. We just have to be better at executing it on both sides of the ball. And I think that’s where the frustration comes.
“The series doesn’t start until the home team loses. Everybody’s fine. I think we’re all still together. Everybody’s confident in their ability, and shots are going to fall. But at the end of the day, we can’t let that side dictate the other side. I think we just need to take care of the ball better and get some stops. And when we do that, then you’re gonna see a different spirit, a different energy. And then the shots will start falling.”
Is defense impossible to play today’s spread-out NBA? Not to the Thunder. They’ve found the secret to putting the clamps on their opponents.
(Photo of Julius Randle driving around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: William Purnell / Getty Images)
