The crowd at the Target Center were all hoping for a miracle at the end of the game. It had to be an intentionally missed free throw for them to get a chance to even tie the game. Anthony Edwards missed, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander grabbed the ball and threw the ball away. However, one of the courtside fans took matters into his own hands to give the Timberwolves another lifeline. He caught SGA’s throw before it could touch the hardwood.

The officials had to deliberate. The Thunder felt the game was over. However, upon review, it showed that there were still 0.6 seconds on the clock when the fan caught the ball. It gave the Timberwolves a second chance. 0.3 seconds to do something. Sadly, the fans’ efforts went in vain and Minnesota couldn’t inbound a dart near the near.

However, he did get some acknowledgement from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A video from courtside first saw a bunch of the Thunder players trying to put their case to end the game to the officials. As soon as the referee pointed to the fan who caught the ball, SGA gave him a compliment for his play.

He called it “smart” from what was visible in the video. And well, it did give the Timberwolves a shot at tying the game for the second time. There just wasn’t enough time to construct a play to capitalize. However, although they lost, the Timberwolves will feel they somehow played a better game than the Thunder.

At least when it comes to scoring the ball, the Timberwolves found several outlets. However, it wasn’t enough to beat OKC’s dazzling trio.

The Timberwolves’ talisman crash down

The Timberwolves’ desperation to win the game wasn’t surprising. According to the statistics, they were the superior team. Their offense was clicking. The team shot 51.2% from the field and 43.9% from three. It wasn’t much different from their performance in Game 3, and they won that game by 42 points.

However, there was also a major difference. Both Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle were kept silent by the Thunder’s pesky defensive system. Randle only shot 1-7 from the field. On the other hand, Ant scored 16, falling off from his back-to-back 30+ point games in this series. The same bug didn’t bother the Oklahoma City Thunder’s primary scorers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led from the front, scoring a playoff career-high 40 points while also directing the offense with 10 assists. He found strong support from Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who combined to score 55 points in the Thunder’s thrilling Game 4 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Now, the ball is in their park and will remain so for the next several games. Each game is a win-or-go-home for the Timberwolves. They will have to push themselves to their limits to force a seven-game series. On the other hand, the Thunder glare at a chance at making history. They haven’t been in the NBA Finals in over a decade.

All they need is one more game. And they play at home, where they have only once in six games during this playoff run. Do you think they will close it out, or will the Thunder suffer another shocking fight against the Timberwolves? Let us know your views in the comments below.