Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career playoff-high 40 points to put Oklahoma City Thunder 3-1 up against Minnesota Timberwolves in the series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished 10 assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder escaped with a 128-126 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals in Minneapolis.
Jalen Williams added 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting for Oklahoma City, which seized a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Chet Holmgren finished with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Gilgeous-Alexander sank 5 of 6 free throw attempts in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory on Monday night.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 23 points off the bench to lead Minnesota. Jaden McDaniels contributed 22 points, and Donte DiVincenzo finished with 21 points off the bench.
The series will shift back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Wednesday night where the Thunder will have the opportunity to close out the series and progress to the NBA Finals.
Both teams battled in the final minutes as the Thunder staved off the Timberwolves’ comeback attempt.
Gilgeous-Alexander displayed his athleticism as he found Williams for a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 116-109 with 3:34 remaining. The 1.98 metre (6ft 6in) guard was falling down on the play, and he slipped a pass between McDaniels’ legs to the open Williams.
The lead went back to seven when Williams hit another 3-pointer to put the Thunder on top 123-116 with 1:21 to go.
The Timberwolves clawed back thanks to McDaniels, who made a driving layup with 1:10 left and followed up with a 3-pointer with 23.1 seconds remaining. The latter hoop sliced the Thunder’s lead to 123-121.
Both teams exchanged free throws in the final seconds.
The Thunder led 128-125 when Anthony Edwards stepped to the free throw line with 3.5 seconds left. Edwards made the first attempt and missed the second attempt on purpose, but Gilgeous-Alexander chased down the rebound and fired a long pass out of bounds to stop the clock with 0.3 seconds to go.
Williams intercepted Julius Randle’s inbounds pass as time expired.
Oklahoma City led 90-85 at the end of the third quarter.
The Timberwolves went on an 8-0 run to cut their deficit to 77-76 with five minutes remaining in the third. DiVincenzo buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to punctuate the run.
The Thunder responded on the next possession when Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a jump shot to give his team a 79-76 lead with 4:41 left in the quarter.
Minnesota trailed 65-57 at the half. Edwards had only four points before the break, and he finished the game with 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting. He made only 1-of-7 attempts from 3-point range.
