On Monday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up a huge road win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to extend their series lead to 3-1. The Thunder were led by a 40-point near triple double from league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and also got big games from Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

There was a bit of confusion during the final sequence of this game after Anthony Edwards intentionally missed a free throw with his team down 2, causing a scramble with just seconds remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander ended up with the ball and launched it down the court in an attempt to run out the clock, but a Timberwolves fan on the sideline ended up catching it with a fraction of a second remaining.

As fate would have it, that fan's catch would save the Timberwolves enough time to get another attempt, as if the fan had let the ball go, time likely would have expired.

While talking things over with the officials, Gilgeous-Alexander looked at the fan and appeared to mouth “you're smart,” per Kurruchi on r/NBA.

It was a hilarious gesture from Gilgeous-Alexander in the midst of arguably the best performance of his career, given the magnitude of the moment.

Thankfully for the Thunder, the extra time ended up not mattering and they secured the win.

A huge bounce back from the Thunder

Article Continues Below
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8), forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) talk to the media after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Just 48 hours after being eviscerated by the Timberwolves, the Thunder bounced back in impressive fashion on Monday evening. In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander's 40 piece, the Thunder also got 34 points from Jalen Williams and 21 from Chet Holmgren, to go along with a huge block down the stretch on Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels.

The Thunder now sit just one game away from their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years, and they'll have a chance to close out the Timberwolves on Wednesday at home, where they won the first two games of this series in relatively easy fashion.

Of course, closeout games are typically the most difficult to win, but Oklahoma City sure seems to be in the driver's seat for their first championship.

Game 5 is set for Wednesday evening at 8:30 PM ET and will be carried nationally by ESPN.