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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault watched his team bounce back from a historic 42-point loss in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In a tightly-contested matchup, the Thunder turned in arguably their best performance of the postseason to take a 3-1 lead. Their 128-126 win, inspired by their most lopsided defeat in these playoffs, is a testament to Oklahoma City’s resilience.
For Daigneault, the Thunder’s motivation, albeit from their previous loss or ahead of a potential series-closing Game 5, is internal, and not something that’s manufactured otherwise.
“After Game 3, we showed the stuff that we needed to improve, and certainly made sure that we took the relevant lessons from that game. But they don’t need speeches,” Daigneault said. “They don’t need motivation. You can pretty safely bet on the internal competitiveness and pride.”
The Thunder’s defense coerced the Timberwolves into committing 21 turnovers, including 14 steals, while preserving an 11-point advantage.
“We didn’t change anything, we do. The mood of the team didn’t change. Our process didn’t change. That’s something we’ve taken pride in through the ups and downs over the course of years,” Daigneault said. “Day-to-day, we’re pretty cold-blooded about stripping the lessons from the last game, learning from them, and then applying them forward, and then, fully competing in the next opportunity, and repeating that process as ruthlessly as we can.
“I thought the guys did a great job of that, coming off of what was, obviously, a disappointing loss,” Daigneault concluded.
Mark Daigneault reveals difference from Game 3 to 4 for Thunder
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Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault celebrated his team’s effort after Game 4. The Thunder’s full 48-minute effort yielded a two-point win on the road against a Timberwolves team amid its second consecutive appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
After the win, Daigneault addressed the Timberwolves’ fight from start to finish.
“Tonight was just a brawl from the jump,” Daigneault said. “I thought we did a good job of leveling up. I thought Minnesota played with the same level of physicality that they played with on Saturday night. The difference is that we rose up tonight, and we matched that physicality. Their role players deserve a lot of credit. Their shotmaking was ridiculous. We had to withstand a lot of runs. So for us to do that and overcome it on the road was a great team win.”
The Timberwolves shot at a 51.2% clip in Game 4, including 18-of-41 threes (43.9%).
