The Thunder defeated the Timberwolves 128-126 and led 3-1! After this game, I understood these six things

In the fourth game of the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder defeated the Timberwolves with two points and took the lead in getting the match point 3-1, only one step away from entering the finals. At the beginning of the first quarter, the two teams launched an offensive battle, and the offensive efficiency was good. However, the Timberwolves had better roles in the role, while the Thunder took the double-core and double-pronged approach. By the second half of the first quarter, the Thunder had better off offensive firepower and took the initiative. At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder led the Timberwolves 37-30 by 7 points. In the second quarter, Javier scored steadily from the middle, Reed Che went to the basket and took two points with his back. Young player Shannon came on as a substitute and combined a surprise shot for the Timberwolves to score 5 points in a row. Wallace and Alexander's ultra-long three-pointer darts were sure to hit. The Thunder continued to lead until the end of the half, and they led the Timberwolves 65-57 by 8 points.

It is worth mentioning that the two players' status in half-time was very different. Alexander scored 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the first half, while Edwards only hit one goal in the sports game and scored 4 points. In the third quarter, Huazi's offensive aggressiveness increased slightly, but it was still not enough to help the team save the situation. Instead, Walker and Divinchenzo stood up and scored three-pointers in a long distance to lead the team to tie the score. However, the Thunder also adjusted their state in time. After the third quarter, the Thunder still led by 5 points 90-85. In the final quarter, although the Timberwolves were very tenacious and rely on the stable shooting of the role players to keep the score close, the Thunder's defense line was airtight at the critical moment. In the final penalty shootout, the Thunder still laughed to the end, and the final score was frozen at 128-126. In this battle, I have to admit six realities.

The Western Conference Finals lost their suspense. It is difficult to fall behind and turn around 1-3, and in the next game of G5, the Timberwolves will have to return to the Thunder to play at home, and they will basically be defeated. According to statistics, in the divisional finals or finals in NBA history, when a team with a home advantage leads 3-1 with a big score, the total record of the series is 61 wins and 2 losses, with a winning rate of up to 97%. This G4 was their last chance. Looking at the entire game of G4, the Timberwolves were always under pressure. Every time they tied the score, or chased the score difference to only two or three points, but could not further start. They always felt that they were not as good as that. Judging from the game, the Timberwolves' rhythm was still too chaotic, while the Thunder's offense was orderly and their key abilities were better. The Timberwolves seemed to be out of the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive years.

Second, Alexander's MVP deserves its reputation. In this game, Alexander scored 40 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, breaking his personal career playoff single-game scoring record, and becoming the fourth player in the league history to perform 40+5+10 in the Western Conference Finals. The first three are Barkley, Westbrook and Booker. In fact, the G4 referee's penalty was still very fair in this game. He did not deliberately take care of Alexander. Alexander was still able to score super high scores. In addition to causing damage, the main reason is that his shooting at close and middle distance is too stable. He can always easily create a jump shot after getting the ball, and he can score in all kinds of turn-backs. He is worthy of being the scoring champion + MVP of this season. He is indeed very powerful, and he is also a big heart at critical moments.

Third, Edwards can only play the game with the wind. In this game, Edwards scored only 16 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, and only made two shots in the first half, revealing his true colors. Judging from the Western Conference Finals, Edwards is indeed like this. He can't play against the wind, his mentality is prone to collapse, and he lacks stable scoring methods at critical moments, so he has to turn on the stealth mode, which is also the gap between him and SGA. Fourth, Randall's magic is no longer there. In fact, since the Timberwolves' playoffs, Randall was originally one of the biggest contributors, but during this period, Randall returned to his original appearance and performed disaster-level performances continuously. In this game, he only scored 5 points from 1 of 7 shots, while Randall scored only 6 points from 2 of 11 shots in G2. He was all defeated by DNP in the decisive moments. When he met a top defensive team like the Thunder, Randall still couldn't play his advantage.

Fifth, Timberwolves' role player is difficult to save. In this game, the Timberwolves' role players have burned out and are still unable to lead Huazi to victory. Looking at the data directly, substitute Alexander Walker scored 9 of 15 shots, 23 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, Divincenzo scored 7 of 11 shots, 21 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, McDaniels scored 9 of 15 shots, 22 points and 4 rebounds, including young player Shannon, who scored 9 points in just 6 minutes. The role players perform so amazingly but still can't win the ball, so there is really nothing we can do about it. In fact, the Timberwolves are in a dilemma. In these losses, they either have good condition and perform in the role players at a disaster, or their core is sleepwalking, and the role players explode. In short, it is impossible to achieve the goal of being a soldier in the whole nation, and the scoring stability of the whole team is too poor.

Sixth, the old Timberwolves problem cannot be solved. That is, there are too many mistakes. In this game, the Thunder team made 14 steals and 5 blocks, and made 14 mistakes; the Timberwolves team made 8 steals and 3 blocks, and made 21 mistakes. The gap is obvious. The Timberwolves have too few pass points. As the star of the team, Edwards' offense is still very rough and he is just acting recklessly with the ball. His overall view and ball quotient are almost interesting. This is also what he needs to improve in the future. Other Timberwolves players are not good at holding balls and have no ability to control the game. In addition, inside Gobert is also a butcher, and the mistakes cannot be resolved, so it will be difficult for them to defeat the Thunder.