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The Minnesota Timberwolves had gotten off to such a strong start in the early goings of Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals clash against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Julius Randle, in particular, was a man on a mission, as he went bonkers from beyond the arc to give Minnesota a four-point lead at the halftime interval. Alas, even with significant rest advantage in the Timberwolves' favor, they ended up looking like the more fatigued team in the second half as the Thunder ran away with the game, 114-88.
The Thunder's defense ramped up the aggression yet again in the second half and the Timberwolves could scarcely do anything. They were out of sorts on that end of the floor in the second half, with OKC denying them paint touches over and over again, forcing them into tough shots on nearly every possession.
In fact, as pointed out by Rob Perez of SiriusXM, the Timberwolves posted their season-low (playoffs and regular season combined) in scoring in the paint in Game 1, with just 20. Their previous season-low was 26, according to Perez.
It's a testament to the Thunder's defense that the Timberwolves weren't able to get much dribble penetration. Alex Caruso was especially disruptive, and he was crucial in limiting Anthony Edwards to a grand total of zero points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder pulled away.
This then forced the Timberwolves to jack up plenty of contested triples, especially with the game slipping away from their grasp. They ended the night having made just 15 of their 51 attempts from deep, and on the night, they shot 39.4 percent from the field overall. It's always going to be difficult to win when they shoot like this.
The only silver lining is that the Timberwolves have bounced back from poor Game 1 shooting nights in the past. But they are facing the Thunder's historically elite defense, which is a far cry from what they faced in the previous rounds of this year's playoffs.
Timberwolves need some time to get going
Perhaps the significant rest advantage isn't doing the Timberwolves favors; in Game 1 of their series against the Golden State Warriors, they also couldn't get into a rhythm offensively. In Game 2 of their first-round clash against the Los Angeles Lakers, they couldn't buy a bucket as well.
In Game 2, expect the Timberwolves to be much better. Anthony Edwards, in particular, will want to bounce back from his 18-point performance that had him drop a goose egg in the fourth quarter.
