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The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up a signature playoff win on Monday night, winning a back-and-forth Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. Both teams were blistering hot on offense and traded haymakers all the way into the final seconds.
With less than 10 seconds to go, the Timberwolves found themselves behind by just three points with the ball. The Thunder fouled intentionally, as has become custom for them at the end of games, to put Minnesota at the foul line and rob it of the chance to hit a game-tying 3-pointer.
Anthony Edwards hit the first free throw before missing the second on purpose, trying to secure an offensive rebound and a cutback. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dove on the ground for the rebound before throwing it out of bounds with 0.1 seconds remaining.
A fan sitting courtside caught the ball before it landed, bringing into question how much time was left. In the end, the referees put 0.3 seconds left on the clock without going to the monitor, despite the fact that it appeared there were 0.5 seconds left when the ball hit the fan.
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On Tuesday, the NBA's Last-2-Minute Report clarified what happened that led to 0.3 being placed on the clock.
“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) throws the ball toward the sideline, where it is touched by a spectator out of bounds. The game clock runs down to 00:00.1,” the report read. “After conferencing, the officials reset the game clock to 00:00.3. Since the clock did not reach 00:00.0, instant replay cannot be triggered in this situation.”
It is a bit of an odd rule that the officials were not allowed to replay the play, but that is how they got to 0.3 being back on the clock. Because of that, Julius Randle had to throw a lob attempt nearly the length of the court. Jalen Williams stole the pass to cap off a masterful playoff performance, and the Thunder escaped with the 128-126 victory.
Now, the Timberwolves are playing with their backs against the wall heading into Game 5. The Thunder have a chance to close the deal back home and advance to their first NBA Finals since 2012. While Minnesota showed that it can go toe-to-toe with the Thunder on Monday night, it will now have to win three games in a row against the best team in the league, with two of those coming on the road.
