Camille Naredo

Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE via Getty Images/AFP 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 24: Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE   Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE / Getty Images / Getty Images via AFP)

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2025 NBA Western Conference Finals - Oklahoma City Thunder v Minnesota Timberwolves - Game Three

Agence France-Presse

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748160377987AFP__20250525__2216187784__v1__Preview__2025NbaWesternConferenceFinalsOklahomaCityTh.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE via Getty Images/AFP "/>Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE via Getty Images/AFP </div>WASHINGTON -- Anthony Edwards scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 on Saturday to tighten their NBA playoff series.Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the host T-Wolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.&quot;I was super happy about the physicality and energy we brought,&quot; Edwards said. &quot;Being down 2-0, it&#x27;s all about bringing energy and we brought high energy.&quot;Julius Randle added 24 points for Minnesota, which set a club record for points in a playoff game in ripping the NBA regular-season win leaders and NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who managed only 14 points.&quot;We got punched in the mouth,&quot; said Gilgeous-Alexander. &quot;You get punched, it&#x27;s about getting back up. It&#x27;s about responding. That&#x27;s what the next challenge is.&quot;The Thunder, who won the first two games at home, face game four on Monday at Minneapolis and game five on Wednesday at Oklahoma City.&quot;I know everyone is happy about this one but we know OKC is going to come out and bring hella-energy and they are going to be ready to go and going to try to win game four and we&#x27;ve got to try and exceed their energy and get a win,&quot; Edwards said.&quot;We&#x27;ll be ready.&quot;Minnesota&#x27;s victory was crucial because no team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series.&quot;We just didn&#x27;t bring it from an energy and focus standpoint,&quot; said Gilgeous-Alexander. &quot;We just didn&#x27;t have it. They had the sense of urgency knowing if they go down 3-0 it&#x27;s going to be pretty tough.&quot;They blitzed us pretty early and we were never able to get back. We&#x27;ve got to start coming out with a sense of urgency.&quot;The T-Wolves set a club record for points in a playoff game and led by as much as 129-84 late in the fourth quarter.&quot;We do have to look at it and address the things that went awry for us,&quot; said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. &quot;They really took it to us.&quot;They were just much more physical, much sharper, executed better, more forceful on offense. For the score to be what it was, they needed to outplay us in a lot of areas and that&#x27;s what they did.&quot;Randle was benched late in game two and unhappy about it but responded by taking out his frustrations on the Thunder.&quot;He knows not to take nothing too personal,&quot; Edwards said of Randle. &quot;I could see it in his eyes. He wanted his respect back and he got it.&quot;<div> </div><div>- Energy and force -</div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5XOE6s4npFk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></div>Minnesota seized a 72-41 half-time lead, with Edwards shooting 8-of-11 from the floor and producing 20 points and eight rebounds in the first half.&quot;We just weren&#x27;t able to bottle him up the way we had the first couple of games,&quot; Daigneault said. &quot;Credit him for the energy and force that he played with. He was really on it early.&quot;The T-Wolves led by as much as 68-33 in the first half and set a club record for playoff points in a half with 72. They scored 13 points off 10 forced turnovers in the first half while the Thunder shot 12-of-40.&quot;The biggest thing is they came out and played with more force than we did,&quot; Oklahoma City&#x27;s Chet Holmgren said. &quot;Wherever they wanted to go, they got there. They didn&#x27;t let us stop them.&quot;Edwards scored 16 points in the first quarter, outproducing the Thunder as the T-Wolves seized their biggest lead of the series to that point at 34-14.&quot;Our intensity, from the first minute of the game, we set a tone,&quot; Minnesota&#x27;s Rudy Gobert said.&quot;Everyone came out with the mindset to be physical. We did a good job staying with it consistently through the whole game.&quot;In the second half, Oklahoma City began with an 11-2 run but the T-Wolves answered with a 10-0 spurt and went on to grab a 103-61 lead as the Thunder sent their starters to the bench late in the third quarter.<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 on Saturday to tighten their NBA playoff series.

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 on Saturday to tighten their NBA playoff series.

Timberwolves silence Thunder to tighten NBA playoff series

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Timberwolves silence Thunder to tighten NBA playoff series

Agence France-Presse

Published May 25, 2025 04:10 PM PHT

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