After losing 42 points, the Thunder and the Timberwolves must face these reality

The progress of this game is very different from the first two games of the series. As the league leader, the Thunder suffered a 42-point defeat on the playoff stage, which undoubtedly added new variables to the entire series. Looking back at the entire game, at the beginning of the first quarter, both sides were still evenly matched and attacked and defended each other. However, the Thunder suddenly fell silent in the middle and failed to score for more than three minutes. At the same time, Edwards ushered in a personal explosion, winning 16 points in a single quarter, while the Thunder's star Alexander felt cold and scored only two points in the first quarter. As the game progressed, the gap between the two sides quickly widened. At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves had led the Thunder by as much as 20 points 34-14. In the end, the scores of the two teams were frozen at 143-101 after the game, and the Timberwolves achieved this crucial victory.

Faced with such a result, fans have to face some facts:

First, despite the Thunder's defeat, the Western Conference Finals are still full of suspense. After the big score comes 1-2, the next G4 will become a key game that determines the trend of the series. If the Wolves can continue the G3 form, then they are fully capable of turning the tables and continuing the suspense of the series.

Wolves are not easy opponents. In the third showdown, they not only successfully made up for their own shortcomings, but also showed a trend of comprehensive recovery in various data. In fact, the loss in the Thunder's home court in the first two games was not because the Timberwolves were not weak, but because they were more affected by their mentality. The referee's whistle obviously interfered with their game rhythm, causing the players to appear to be lacking in fighting spirit on the court and unwilling to go deep into the basket to seek breakthroughs. However, in the third game, with the unification of the judgment standards and the return to home, the Wolves' fighting spirit was rekindled.

In addition, the new MVP Alexander performed mediocrely in this game, scoring only 14 points and 6 assists, setting a new low for individual scores in a single game this season. He only hit 4 sports goals and 4 free throws in the game, and made 4 turnovers.

Alexander has some ability, his scoring style is too dependent on free throws. Compared with the previous two Western Conference Finals, the Thunder team won many free throw opportunities in this game, but Alexander's personal free throws were significantly reduced. This fully demonstrates that free throws have an important impact on the player's playing state. If more free throw opportunities can be obtained early in the game, players tend to rush to the basket with more confidence, triggering a series of positive chain reactions. However, in the third game, Alexander obviously failed to continue his good form in the previous two games.

It is worth mentioning that Edwards finally showed his strength in this game. He made 12 of 17 shots in the game, scoring 30 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in just three quarters. Of these 30 points, 29 were obtained through sports scores, which fully proves that his scoring ability does not rely on free throws. According to statistics, Edwards has ranked fifth in history with 30+ points in the pre-playoffs at the age of 24, second only to legendary stars such as James, Kobe, Durant and Doncic. In the first two Western Conference Finals, Edwards was questioned and was believed to have a clear gap with the opponent's MVP players. However, in the third game, he proved his strength with his performance and showed his ability to crush his opponent without relying on free throws. This is also one of the reasons why Edwards is very popular among fans. His performance on the court is full of fighting spirit and his style of playing is also very attractive. In the future, he undoubtedly has great potential to become an iconic figure in the league.

In addition, the Timberwolves successfully made up for their own shortcomings in the third game of the series and showed a comprehensive recovery trend. This change is specifically reflected in many aspects: in terms of rebounding, the Timberwolves led the Thunder 50-31 in the whole game, in sharp contrast to the situation where the rebounding numbers fell behind the opponent in the first two games. In fact, the Timberwolves have obvious advantages over the Thunder in terms of size, with many forward players, tall and long arms, and athletic ability. Perhaps because of the referee factors in the first two games, the Timberwolves' players seemed not active enough in rebounding.

However, in the third game, they finally released their inner passion, re-established the advantage of rebounding, laying a solid foundation for the final victory.

The Timberwolves have also made significant progress in three-point shooting. He made 20 goals in 40 shots in the game, with a shooting percentage of up to 50%, which is completely different from his performance in the first two games with a cool touch and a shooting percentage of less than 30%. Previously, there were always players in the Timberwolves who felt bad, which affected their overall three-point shooting percentage. In the third battle, this problem was effectively solved. In addition, the Timberwolves also reduced their turnovers and role players also exploded, and these factors together became the key to their victory in the third game.

However, despite the Timberwolves' victory, the viewing of the Western Conference Finals still needs to be improved. In the first three games, there were either free throw battles or garbage time early, and there was no truly tense, exciting and exciting peak showdown. We look forward to the two teams fighting fiercely until the last moment in the subsequent game and giving the fans a more exciting game.

Against this background, the Timberwolves are not without the chance to advance to the finals. However, the Thunder's ability to adjust is equally unnecessarily, and they still have the initiative in the series. Therefore, it is still a suspense that who can stand out in the final contest and laugh to the end.