Williams, Holmgren give Thunder giant spice up in Game 4

MINNEAPOLIS — With Oklahoma City clutching a four-point lead, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drove into the road and smacked into triple protection — doing the splits as he stopped and desperately attempted to discover a secure position for the ball.

Somehow, as he misplaced his stability and fell towards the court docket, he discovered house to fling it between the legs of Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels — and immediately to a wide-open Jalen Williams in the back of the arc with 1:21 to head.

Swish. Game. Maybe even the sequence.

The Thunder noticed that seven-point lead shrink again to at least one within the remaining seconds, however they staved off the past due push with a parade to the free-throw line and pulled out a 128-126 victory in Game 4 that gave them a 3-1 lead within the Western Conference finals.

Even the NBA MVP wishes a wing guy, and Gilgeous-Alexander has two. Williams and Chet Holmgren have been so excellent in their very own ways in which a 40-point, 10-assist, nine-rebound efficiency through Gilgeous-Alexander on Monday evening was once by some means overshadowed.

Williams had 13 of his 34 issues within the first quarter to provide the Thunder the scoring to check their tenacious get started after a 42-point loss in Game 3. He shot 13 for 24, together with 6 for 9 from 3-point vary, and pitched in 3 of the crew’s 14 steals.

“From start to finish, he picked his spots great, he was aggressive, stepped into everything,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He was who he is. He’s gotten all these awards this year for a good reason, and he proved it tonight. He’s a really good basketball player. It’s crazy to think he’s so young and what he has already achieved.”

Holmgren had 9 of his 21 issues within the fourth quarter. He went 9 for 14 from the ground, grabbed 4 of his seven rebounds at the offensive finish and blocked 3 photographs — together with a highlight-reel rejection of McDaniels within the ultimate minute in a five-point recreation.

After McDaniels adopted his exhausting pressure proper with a slick spin transfer to overcome him to the basket for a left-side layup strive, Holmgren by no means misplaced his footing regardless of the trade in route and abruptly slid to his proper earlier than a wonderfully timed bounce to swat the ball with out fouling because the clock dropped beneath the 40-second mark.

“On both ends of the floor, he affects the game at such a high level,” Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned. “And it’s loopy as a result of he’s in the market simply working round presently. We hardly name performs for him. He hardly will get anything else set for him. He’s simply in the market enjoying off of really feel and affecting the sport at a top degree, whether or not it’s making open photographs, blocking off photographs, offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding.

“He’s only a profitable participant.”

Though the Timberwolves regained ownership after a charging foul on Gilgeous-Alexander, treasured extra time went through earlier than they scored once more on a 3-pointer through McDaniels with 23 seconds left.

Gilgeous-Alexander helped ice the sport on the line, and Williams in the end grabbed a desperation inbounds go through the Timberwolves from half-court with 0.3 seconds left.

Holmgren, the second one total pick out within the 2022 draft who ignored his whole rookie season with a foot damage and 50 video games this season following a pelvic fracture from a difficult fall, thankfully left his place of origin with a commentary efficiency that put him and his teammates inside of one win of attaining the NBA Finals.

“When you have really good players that the other team needs to stop, they’re going to have to help recover from somewhere,” Holmgren mentioned. “So simply figuring out that we need to cause them to pay for that and simply you have to be competitive, attempt to make the appropriate play, too. It’s now not at all times rating. Sometimes it’s make the additional go, infrequently it’s to find the following motion, no matter it’s, simply attempt to go away fingerprints at the recreation and make profitable performs.”

Despite enjoying in one of the most league’s smallest markets, the trio already has its personal business, a funny spot for AT&T highlighting the significance of communique after they all display up for a red-carpet tournament in the very same outfits.

The camaraderie is not an act.

“We’re all really cool with each other, to be honest,” mentioned Williams, the 12th total pick out within the 2022 draft who made his first All-Star crew this season. “Off-the-court chemistry seeps into at the court docket. We’ve simply grown up in combination. Obviously Shai’s slightly bit older than us, however we’ve been thru a large number of reviews in a brief period of time that experience both pressured us to consider each and every different or develop aside, and we’ve grown nearer to one another.

“That’s simply roughly how we play — are living and die through trusting each and every different, and no matter occurs from there occurs.”