The score was already out of hand midway through the second quarter, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recognized the opening in Minnesota's drop pick-and-roll coverage and rose up at the elbow for the type of mid-range jumper Oklahoma City feasted on over the first two games of the Western Conference finals.

The Wolves threw a hell of a Game 4 punch, but didn’t land enough down the stretch for the series to expand to a 3-1 gap

In the most obvious prediction, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch gave the Thunder a backhanded compliment for their lockdown defense on Anthony Edwards in Game 4. He was quiet with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting in a gutpunch loss that plummets their odds of an all-time upset.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch walked into the locker room after Minnesota’s Game 1 defeat at the hands of the Thunder to open the Western Conference Finals and told his team the good news: Now they know what it looks like.

"Our resolve in that series is what got sharpened," coach Mark Daigneault said, adding, "Now we have a different challenge."