For one of the first times all season, the Timberwolves controlled a contest for four quarters Friday at Target Center.
What a fine time to do it. In a do-or-die play-in contest, the Wolves “did” for 48 minutes, downing up-and-coming Oklahoma City in convincing fashion. Minnesota suffocated the Thunder defensively en route to a 120-95 victory in Minneapolis to secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
After a rollercoaster 82-game campaign — plus two more play-in contests — Minnesota will meet top-seeded Denver in the first round, with Game 1 set for 9:30 p.m. Sunday in Denver. For the first time since 2004, the Timberwolves have qualified for the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
“We’re certainly happy and proud. The season was a tough one in a lot of ways,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We felt all season we were a playoff team no matter what the circumstances were. Very pleased the guys continued to fight through everything. No one ever let go of the rope.”
So while there was plenty of adversity, turmoil and doubts over the course of the last six months, the second half Friday was reserved for an arena-wide celebration. Minnesota went on a 22-4 run to extend its consistently comfortable advantage to 109-80. A series of defensive stops led to transition opportunities, each ending in buckets that generated louder and louder ovations.
“It was nice not to give back a lead, which we’ve done quite a bit,” Finch said. “Guys were super locked in, and they knew what it was going to take … and they went out and did it.”
Oklahoma City emptied its bench with five minutes to play. After reserve Josh Minott buried a triple to move Minnesota’s advantage to 114-88 with three minutes to play, the fans broke into a “We want Denver” chant. They’ll get their wish.
Minnesota moved to 4-1 this season against the Thunder with the win. Oklahoma City simply doesn’t possess the size to contend with Minnesota’s tall ball, nor the shooting to space Minnesota’s defense out. The Thunder resort to a lot of isolation looks that play into Minnesota’s hands with its bevy of on-ball defenders and Rudy Gobert entrenched in the paint.
Gobert was questionable coming into the contest with back spasms, but he looked plenty mobile in the contest. He finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, including a number of impressive finishes around the rim that have been missing for much of the campaign.
His twin tower partner, Karl-Anthony Towns, dominated early en route to a 28-point, 11-rebound showing. Anthony Edwards tacked on 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Six players scored in double figures.
Defensively, Minnesota’s primary mission was to shut down Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The one tasked with that primary responsibility Friday was Nickeil Alexander-Walker — Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin. Alexander-Walker got his first start in a Timberwolves jersey — a suggestion made by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly — and got the better of the family duel Friday, as Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 5-for-19 shooting. As a whole, no Thunder perimeter player really looked comfortable throughout the evening.
Oklahoma City shot just 36 percent from the field as a team — including 39 percent in the paint. For at least one night, Minnesota fully bought into what should be its identity — a defensive team.
“Defense was phenomenal. We executed everything we talked about doing,” Finch said. “We did a good job of just never letting them get into a rhythm.”
Everything the Wolves did Friday was on a string, from their rotating defense to their ball moving offense. After stagnating to a crippling stall Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota moved the ball and bodies with precision.
“An unselfish, defensive, high-intensity level, it was a game that really showed us what we can be when we play the right way and play with the right energy,” Conley said. “Just a positive game overall.”
That’s the type of play the Wolves will need to consistently demonstrate to match up against Denver, an opponent Minnesota had success against during the regular season, but is undoubtedly one of the contenders to win the West. And a playoff series serves as the ultimate litmus test for Minnesota — can it execute for 48 minutes over a seven-game span.
Because that’s what will be required to make any type of playoff run.
“Obviously when the season started the goal was to be one of the best teams in the West and to make a deep run in the playoffs. Obviously we’ve got the mindset of going and trying to win a championship and build something special,” Gobert said. “We had a lot of adversity, lots of ups and downs in a lot of ways, but to be able to still have a chance (Friday) to get in the playoffs and beat a team that we believe that we can beat, it was an amazing opportunity.
“We did a great job of taking care of business tonight and now we’re where we belong, where we want to be. We know we’re going to play against a very good team, but I believe that in the West from one to eight, every team is a very good team, and it’s a good opportunity for us.”
