On Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered their fourth straight blowout loss with a road defeat against the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. While this one didn't fall off the rails immediately, the Timberwolves ultimately could not keep up with their 2025 Western Conference Finals opponents down the stretch, and continued their freefall down the playoff standings.
One positive from this game was the fact that power forward Julius Randle was able to break out of a recent ugly shooting slump, shooting an efficient 11-18 from the field after a recent game against the Golden State Warriors in which he was benched down the stretch.
Before the game on Sunday, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch broke down how he planned to help get Randle back on track.
“I’ve got to direct the ball to him more in the spots where he’s really good,” Finch said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I think we’ve gotten away from that at times. I think that will certainly help him. Also, we’ve got to generate some more open looks overall for each other. I think that will help, too.”
After the game, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who had a relatively quiet afternoon in Oklahoma City, spoke on the silver lining that was Randle's bounce-back effort.
“That was super fun to watch,” Edwards said. “We were trying to get it to him as much as possible. He found his rhythm tonight, and hopefully that carries over.”
Randle himself also spoke on the relief he felt to finally break out of the slump.
“It definitely felt good to see the ball go in a little bit more today,” Randle said. “Just stay focused and be consistent.”
If the Timberwolves want to continue their streak of deep playoff runs, and perhaps even make it further this time around, Randle will have to be on his game.
The Timberwolves will next hit the floor on Tuesday vs the Phoenix Suns.
