Timberwolves takeaways from Game 3: The game had barely begun and the Thunder was done

Welcome to the Western Conference finals, Timberwolves.

After they appeared overmatched in the first two games of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City, the Wolves came back home and thrashed the Thunder 143-101 on Saturday at Target Center. They made a loud statement that this series isn’t over, despite how the first two games played out. The Wolves led 34-14 after the first quarter and they never let Oklahoma City back in it.

Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 30 and Julius Randle had 24. The Thunder limited Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 14 points and four free throw attempts. The Thunder shot 40.7% compared to the Wolves’ 57.3%, and the game entered garbage time early in the fourth quarter.

“We came with the right intensity tonight, and sustained it for pretty much the full 48 minutes,” Randle said.

Terrence Shannon Jr. was an addition to the rotation early in the second quarter and finished with 15 points.

It’s rare when a turning point is the opening minutes, but that first quarter marked a turning point for the Wolves in this series. After falling behind 4-0, the Wolves outscored the Thunder 25-5. That included a stretch in which they held the Thunder without a point for 4 minutes, 47 seconds.

Edwards had 16 points and five rebounds in the first as he was aggressive inside and out. He hit three threes in the first quarter, while the defense forced six Thunder turnovers for 11 Wolves points.

BOXSCORE: Wolves 143, Thunder 101

The Wolves defense was flying around and guarding the gaps against Gilgeous-Alexander, who had just two points in the quarter and didn’t go to the free-throw line. The Wolves shot 57% for the quarter compared to 29% for the Thunder.

The Wolves continued to pour it on in the second quarter, as Game 2 resembled Game 6 of their series against Denver a season ago. The Thunder looked all out of sorts and the Wolves never let up, as they led 72-41 headed into halftime.

Finch went into his bench for a ninth man to start the second quarter and Shannon Jr. delivered with nine points in the quarter for the Wolves, who went up as much as 26 as Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander sat. The crowd gave him a standing ovation when he checked out at the 7:50 mark and the Wolves up 46-20.

“They told me before the game, be ready for the second quarter,” Shannon said. “I tried to just be myself, attacking downhill, getting in the paint and making my shots.”

The Wolves pushed their lead to as much as 35 before heading into the locker room up 72-41. They limited the Thunder to 30% shooting.

The 72 points were the most in a half in Wolves franchise history.

The Thunder opened the second half on an 11-2 run, which prompted a timeout from Finch, but out of that timeout, the Wolves answered with a 12-0 burst to put the lead back to 34. They then extended the lead beyond 40 later in the quarter as five players hit double figures before the quarter was over.

“They probably thought there were a few things they left on the table in the last two games, and they responded tonight,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daignault said of the Wolves. “They were way better than us, obviously, in every facet. I can’t isolate it to one thing. Holistically, they were much better than we were.”

After struggling to score in the first two games, the Wolves’ bench found its rhythm in the comforts of home. Naz Reid had 10 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 12, Donte DiVincenzo had six on just two shots and Shannon had 15. Combined, the four main players off the bench shot 16-for-25 before garbage time.

“This is the first step to the right direction,” Reid said. “We got a lot more basketball to play.”

Edwards set the tone for the Wolves in that first quarter, and they followed his lead. Not only was he aggressive, he was also efficient, going 12-for-17 from the field. He also added nine rebounds and six assists.

Game 4 is Monday at Target Center.

“We’ve got to come out and do it all again on Monday night,” said Wolves coach Chris Finch.