The Timberwolves rallied back into the series with their Game 3 win at home. They beat the Thunder by 42 points (143-101) and showed the world that this series is not over just yet. However, Charles Barkley feels that the Timberwolves cannot take their foot off the gas pedal now. According to the NBA legend, the Thunder face no pressure to win on the road as they have home-court advantage already in this series.
He said, “Obviously, Minnesota had to play with desperation, they did…. All the pressure is still on Minnesota. Tomorrow is a must-win for Minnesota, it’s not a must-win for OKC. All Minnesota did was get kind of back in the series. They extended it, now they have to win tomorrow. OKC does not have to win it in Minnesota, they can make it a shorter series…. And the one thing you have to understand, whether they win by 1 or 40, it don’t matter. It’s still one game. All the pressure tomorrow is still on the Timberwolves. Because if they don’t win tomorrow, they’ll be done Game 5.”
To be fair, Barkley is not wrong statistically. 98% of the teams that go down 3-1 in an NBA Playoffs series end up losing the game (13-584 record). Twice this season, the Timberwolves put teams in positions to come back from 3-1 deficits, but even the likes of LeBron James and Jimmy Butler couldn’t do it anymore.
However, when LeBron James did pull it off in his career (in 2016), he was in his prime. Anthony Edwards is nowhere close to what his prime would look like just yet. If anyone can pull it off now, it’s him. But why put yourself in such a position when you can avoid history being against you? Therefore, the priority for Edwards will be to win Game 4 before thinking about a mountain like a 3-1 deficit to climb.
How Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves Beat The OKC Thunder In Game 3
Anthony Edwards is arguably the most consistent player on the Timberwolves. However, it is the role players on his team that often make it or break it with their performance. Since Edwards would be on top of their scouting report, it came down to the contributions of Julius Randle (24 points), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (12 points), and Terrence Shannon Jr. (15 points) to provide the additional boost for the win.
Every opposing team is ready with a plan to guard the best players on the opponent’s team. It is at this time that role players need to step up for their team. Terrence Shannon Jr and Leonard Miller (11 points), coming off Minnesota’s bench, provided that additional boost beyond the usual Naz Reid (10 points), Jaden McDaniels (10 points), and Donte DiVincenzo (6 points).
Led by 30 points from Anthony Edwards, it was a team effort in Game 3 to beat the Thunder 143-101.
