SGA can t get the free throw... Timberwolves strangled the Thunder s throat by retreating

After watching the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, it gives people the feeling that the ownership of the Western Conference championship has basically lost its suspense. The Thunder won tickets to the finals only for 4 or 5 games. But in today's game, the Timberwolves finally showed their fangs and defeated their opponents 143-101 at home, winning a declaration-like victory.

The Timberwolves' changes on the defensive end are crucial to be able to win a big victory at home. This game is different from the first two games of the series, the Timberwolves' defensive players did not mindlessly defend Alexander and Jaylen Williams, but instead gave them more space. This is particularly evident in McDaniels. The Timberwolves' defensive team has excellent figure and arm-show, and can still create sufficient high-quality interference while controlling the defensive distance. More importantly, such a defensive idea can avoid too many fouls. Defensive ideas such as

have excellent results. In this game, Alexander, the Thunder's offensive core and regular season MVP winner, scored only 14 points, which was the highest score of the Thunder in this game, and it was also Alexander's lowest score in a single game this season. His record of scoring 30 points in five consecutive games in the playoffs was terminated. In this game, SGA's 13 shots were only 4 hits. On the free throw end, Alexander, who averaged 14.5 free throw opportunities per game in the first two games, only got 4 free throw opportunities in this game.

Talking about the defensive arrangement of this game, Finch talked about the key points he emphasized. "When defending Alexander, we did the movements in this game cleaner and did not foul." Finch said.

Judging from the results, the Wolves' 143 points scored was indeed terrifying, but on the other hand, they made the Thunder only scored 101 points in this game, which is also the second lowest score in a single game so far since entering the playoffs. "The Timberwolves have always maintained energy on both offense and defense in this game," Thunder coach Dagnot said after the game: "I think they have given enough pressure and confrontation on the defensive end. They have won the lead in this game."

"We picked up the opponent's goals in the basket throughout the game. They can quickly retreat and establish an effective position defense system." Alexander said: "When they have the opportunity to set up their positions, it is really difficult to score. In the past two games, we have not faced such a defense. We can complete the defense before and then push the fast attack. Tonight, we got a heavy punch."

(text/Bai Ya)