Chris Finch knew Friday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder was a big one. OKC entered the game with an NBA-best 24-2 record, and the Minnesota Timberwolves (17-10) were still searching for the type of win that could spark a charge for the rest of the regular season. A win that the Wolves could hold onto, and one that we can point to in months from now as a defining moment.
“We’ve got to get some signature wins for this season,” Finch told Paul Allen on KFAN’s 9 to Noon on Tuesday. “That would be a great one.”
So far this season, it has been difficult to gauge how good the Wolves truly are. While their overall record indicates they’ve been successful — which they certainly have — some of that success has been due to a lighter schedule. Not only that, but before Friday’s game, Minnesota was 0-2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, 0-2 against the Denver Nuggets, and 0-2 against the Phoenix Suns.
Those were all teams that the Wolves dispatched in the playoffs over the last two years. They swept both the Nuggets and the Suns in the regular season last year, a season in which the Timberwolves were at their best while facing adversity. The Wolves needed a gritty signature win on Friday, much like the ones they had in the final stretch of last season. They needed a win that could boost them for the rest of the season.
Their 112-107 victory over OKC has the potential to do just that.
“It was electric,” Anthony Edwards told Amazon Prime’s Allie Clifton after hitting the game-winning shot over the Thunder on Friday. “The fans brought the energy. Coach brought the energy in the first quarter when he got thrown out, and we had to respond.”
Early on, the nearly 19,000 fans inside Target Center needed no energy boost. The game tipped off shortly after 8:30 pm local time. After a long work week, fans were amped up for a Western Conference Finals rematch. They also let the referees know that they would not silently spectate a game that would be officiated inconsistently.
Finch made that known as well.
Fans gave Finch a standing ovation as he stormed off the court and into the tunnel. Shortly after that, the crowd began to chant “REF YOU SUCK” at the top of their collective lungs. It created an emotionally charged atmosphere in the building. The crowd groaned every time the Wolves were called for a foul, even if it was the correct call. The players were also visibly upset with almost every call or non-call.
The Wolves struggled to hit open shots in the first quarter, ending the frame shooting 8 of 27 from the floor and 3 of 12 from deep, trailing by 10. The energy in the building and amongst the team was going to lead the Wolves down one of two paths. Either they were going to get flustered, buckle, and succumb to OKC’s greatness, or the Wolves were going to lean into the energy and emotions from their crowd and ejected head coach.
Ultimately, the latter happened because the Wolves maintained a level of grit we’ve seen from this team in spurts this season, but never consistently enough.
“We’re a third of the way into the season, we’ve yet to really feel like we’ve caught our groove,” Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori, who took over for Finch, said after the game. “For whatever reason that may be. … You can’t always control shots going in and that, but just your energy and effort.”
Minnesota shot 33 of 88 (37.5%) from the floor on Friday, 13 of 37 (35.1%) from deep, and they missed 14 of their 47 free throws. For most of the game, the Wolves struggled to hit open shots and left far too many free points on the board at the free-throw line. Those are the type of points that, if you don’t capitalize on them, are lethal against a team like the Thunder, which gives its opponent such a small margin of error.
However, after the first quarter, OKC never led by more than 12 points. The Thunder were coming off a back-to-back, having played Thursday night at home against the Los Angeles Clippers. They shot 34 of 92 (37%) from the floor on Friday and 11 of 39 (28.2%) from deep. OKC missed a slew of open shots. But overall, their offensive woes stemmed from Minnesota’s relentless energy and defensive fight.
On a night where both sides struggled offensively, the Timberwolves were the more desperate team in every way. The Wolves hauled in 18 offensive rebounds — one off a season high — which they converted into 29 second-chance points.
As the final buzzer drew closer, the Wolves were wrestling with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s greatness. He was in hero mode, getting to his spots at will and taking and making the type of shots that deflate a team into a loss.
Within the first two minutes of clutch time, Minnesota committed three turnovers. They struggled to score efficiently all night, and it appeared likely that the Thunder were going to lock in and close out the close game. ESPN listed OKC’s win percentage at 74% with one minute remaining and the Thunder up 107-104.
Julius Randle then went to the free-throw line for a pair. He made the first but missed the second, which Rudy Gobert, who finished with six offensive rebounds, quickly tapped back out for Donte DiVincenzo to retrieve it.
DiVincenzo deferred the ball to Edwards, and he hit the type of shot that only superstars are capable of making — a side-step triple in the face of Cason Wallace, one of the most rugged perimeter defenders in the NBA.
The swish that followed ignited the loudest roar at Target Center this season. The shot was captivating, and it will probably be one that the Wolves don’t soon forget — Ant hit the dagger to beat what has been a relatively unbeatable team this season with the shot that has become a patented part of his game.
For as heroic as the bucket was, it wouldn’t have been made possible without the gritty work by Gobert to get on the glass and tap the ball out.
“Crashing the glass, getting those extra shots,” said Nori. “It’s kind of interesting how the last [shot], the big one, was off second-chance points.”
Finch didn’t get to pull the strings for the Wolves on Friday. He had to watch most of the game back in the locker room. Still, his ejection sparked an emotional, loud, and physical response from the Wolves, which led to their first signature win of the season.
A win of this magnitude could help the Wolves find their groove, which is ironic because the win came on a night when they never had an offensive “groove.” But this is where the Wolves must be willing to live. To start piling up signature wins against Western Conference foes and build on Friday’s, Minnesota needs to reach a level where its grit, energy, and fight rarely wane.