Scoggins: Three observations on the Timberwolves’ Game 2 loss in Oklahoma City

The Timberwolves have their first back-to-back losses of this postseason. The sobering part is that they have not been particularly close in either game of the Western Conference finals.

The Oklahoma City Thunder followed up an opening game rout with a second blowout Thursday, a 118-103 win, to take a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Minnesota.

Here are three observations from Game 2.

The Thunder led the NBA in victories this season with 68. They feature the league MVP, the league’s best defense and enough firepower to win multiple ways.

Anything less than an “A” performance by the Wolves is going to end poorly, most likely by a lopsided margin.

They haven’t come close to that yet, thanks to too many no-show performances the first two games. Turnovers and dreadful shooting from the bench doomed them in Game 1.

Julius Randle was nonexistent in Game 2, an odd development given he has been their most effective and consistent playoff performer. Randle watched the fourth quarter from the bench after scoring just six points on 2-for-11 shooting with four turnovers.

He wasn’t alone.

Rudy Gobert has scored seven points in two games and been a liability on offense whenever the ball gets passed to him. Gobert has not provided enough defensive disruption to offset the clunkiness on the other side of the court.

Wolves coach Chris Finch also needs to consider his point guard rotation. Mike Conley finished a plus-14 in 28 minutes, the only Wolves player with a plus beside his name, same as Game 1.

Backup guard Donte DiVincenzo was a different story, a game-worst minus-27 in only 22 minutes. DiVincenzo struggled against the Thunder’s aggressive pressure, committing four turnovers. He also watched the fourth quarter from the bench. Increasing Conley’s minutes should be an agenda item to help the offense.

Finch and his staff also need to consider different lineup combinations and potentially extending the bench to include Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr. to see if that provides a spark.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received his MVP trophy before tipoff. He was the best player on the court once the game started too.

He posted 38 points, eight assists and three steals, but the statistic that people focus on the most with Gilgeous-Alexander is free-throw attempts. He went 13-of-15 from the line.

He shot one free throw more than in Game 1, but the whistles were more deserving this game.

By my count, Gilgeous-Alexander drew nine fouls — three in the first half, six in the second.

Most of them were clearly fouls. His cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, got called for two fouls on slight contact bumps on drives. Those were debatable. Certainly not a lot of contact.

Jaden McDaniels lost his cool in the fourth after Gilgeous-Alexander hooked his arm but didn’t get whistled for an offensive foul. McDaniels gestured to the closest official, then sent Gilgeous-Alexander to the ground with a shove in the back.

That might have felt good to release pent-up frustration, but the Wolves can’t let SGA and the officiating get inside their heads.

Anthony Edwards used an expletive (and received another league fine) after Game 1 when lamenting that he only took 13 shots.

He vowed to be more aggressive, both in volume of shots and in attacking the basket. He looked far more engaged, and his performance reflected it.

Edwards scored 16 of his 32 points in the paint. He also shot 10 free throws.

Finch moved Edwards off the ball more and allowed him to post up to create different scoring opportunities. The Thunder’s defense forces Edwards to be patient when he’s driving from the perimeter because help defenders are ready to clog up lanes.

Edwards made the right read in passing to a teammate in the corner for open three-pointers multiple times. He collected six assists with zero turnovers.

Three-point shooting continued to be a problem area though. Edwards made only one of nine attempts as the Wolves went 11 of 39 from the arc. Once again, many of their misses were uncontested. And Edwards was frustrated enough to spur postgame interviews.