On Monday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder took a commanding 3-1 lead in their Western Conference Finals series vs the Minnesota Timberwolves with a narrow Game 4 win on the road. Oklahoma City was led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 40 points to go along with 10 assists and nine rebounds.
One of the major storylines of this series has been Gilgeous-Alexander's perceived tendency to grift for foul calls, which has drawn the ire of the Timberwolves fan base, who have chanted “free throw merchant” at the star every time he's been on the line.
After Monday's game, Gigleous-Alexander was signing autographs for a group of fans outside the arena when one angry heckler repeatedly asked him, “How much did you pay the refs?” (per Isseballer on TikTok).
Gilgeous-Alexander didn't respond to the jab, continuing to sign the autographs with a calm demeanor.
Gilgeous-Alexander was once again able to get to the free throw line with frequency on Monday night, finishing 12-14 at the stripe, although it should be noted that four of those attempts came when the Timberwolves were intentionally fouling to try to extend the game at the end.
An epic game for the Thunder Big 3
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The Thunder star trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren bounced back from a silent Game 3 in epic fashion on Monday, combining for 95 points in the Oklahoma City victory to put them up 3-1 in the series.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves got just 21 points combined from their star duo of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, which is what ultimately sunk them despite hot shooting games from several role players.
The Thunder will now head home with a chance to advance to their first NBA Finals in 13 years with Game 5 on Wednesday night. Thunder fans don't need to be reminded of what happened last time their team was up 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals, although the Timberwolves haven't exactly looked the part of the prime Golden State Warriors so far in this series.
Game 5 is set for Wednesday evening in Oklahoma City at 8:30 PM ET and will be carried by ESPN.