3 Takeaways from OKC Thunder's Thrilling Game 4 Win Past Timberwolves

After getting blown out in Game 3 by 42 points, the Oklahoma City Thunder needed to come out in Game 4 firing away.

And that, it certainly did.

The Thunder picked up a 128-126 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, stealing a game on the road and nearly putting the series to a close. Shai Gligeous-Alexander recorded a playoff career-high of 40 points, out-dueling Anthony Edwards' 16 points.

Oklahoma City is just one win away from reaching its first NBA Finals since 2012 — which it has a chance to accomplish back at Paycom Center on Wednesday.

Here are three takeaways from last night's win:

A Confident J-Dub

It hasn't always been a smooth playoff run for Jalen Williams. The All-Star and All-NBA third team talent is looked at as the Thunder's No. 2 scoring option behind Gilgeous-Alexander, but doesn't always play to those standards.

In Game 2, he fit the bill for what Oklahoma City asks of him. Williams finished the night with 34 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals on 13-of-24 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from behind the arc.

A confident Williams is what the Thunder need. In Game 3, he only scored 13 points and took just nine shots — even if it was a massive blowout, it was an underwhelming showcase. Game 4 was as pivotal of a win as they come, so he needed to be at his best for Oklahoma City to secure a win.

As for the criticism Williams has received throughout the playoffs? He's not too concerned with that.

“If you’re not really good, you’re probably not gonna be scrutinized," Williams said following Monday's game. "A lot of people that are talking about (me) can’t do what I do.”

Creating Turnovers

It's been the key to the Thunder's success for most of the season, but it felt like its defense forced the Timberwolves out of their possessions every other time.

Especially in the first quarter, Oklahoma City went on a string of creating turnovers. A lot of that came with the intensity of Luguentz Dort on the perimeter, who matched up with Edwards as soon as he cross the half-court line and tried to create as much havoc on the attack as possible.

A lot of times, forced turnovers came with intercepting passes. Alex Caruso has been particularly elite at that, which helps start up new scoring possessions effectively. The Thunder ended the night with 25 points off turnovers — though Minnesota had 22 with far fewer forced turnovers.

The Timberwolves got lots of production from their bench unit in particular, but Oklahoma City's hounding defense is part of why Edwards was forced to be rather inconsequential. By the end of the game, he turned the ball over five times, which was also matched by Julius Randle's five.

Don't Get Too Far Ahead

A 3-1 lead sounds pretty convincing. The Thunder's Game 4 win feels like a nail in the coffin, especially when it is returning home in Game 5 with all of the momentum.

However, it's not a guarantee that Oklahoma City makes it out of the series. Though behind much different circumstances, it blew a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals in 2016 that ruined its championship aspirations.

I think last game was good for us just in terms of understanding that the most important thing is what's in front of you," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I think we're a little bit too lackadaisical and comfortable ... in Game 3. I think we got beat the way we did because of that, and that was a good wake up call."

When you're so close to reaching the ultimate destination, it's tough not to think about that. Gilgeous-Alexander admitted that very thing, but both he and the Thunder are looking to take everything one possession at a time.

Oklahoma City is capable of finishing this series off and moving forward — it just has to actually do it first.