Inside The Thunder

Film Review: Breaking Down OKC Thunder 4th Quarter 3-Pointers vs. Timberwolves

The Oklahoma City Thunder collapses against the Minnesota Timberwolves, blowing a 25 point lead via bricked triples. How many of the OKC Thunder 3-pointers were due to settling vs. good shots?

Rylan Stiles

Feb 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) celebrates after scoring a three point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Feb 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) celebrates after scoring a three point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
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As the lead slipped away and the bricked triples built a mansion in the Paycom Center, the crowd groaned. Mutterings and mumblings could be heard from the Thunder faithful pleading with Oklahoma City to simply "Get to the rim!" and "Stop settling for triples!" These outcries only comfort observers during a collapse and wrongfully parrots age-old addages that do not hold up.

The OKC Thunder shot 15 triples in the fourth quarter and only cashed in two of them. Sure, that is alarmingly bad, but the Thunder shot 14 times inside the arc to the tune of four makes. While the Thunder might've shot too many triples for somes liking, it was not finding success getting to the paint due to the Timberwolves stingy and physical defense.

Where did Oklahoma City find success? At the 3-point line. Despite its 13% from behind the tape in the final frame, the process to get those triples were sound and shots you work for all game. They just didn't drop. It is basketball, that happens.

So, in the spirit of transparency, let's dive into all 15 3-point attempts from Oklahoma City on Monday night to back up the claims that this was a good processing game from the Thunder.

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Below is the first triple of the quarter, a beautiful set play which saw Cason Wallace cut through the defense from the slot to clear runway for Wiggins to replace him off a pin-down screen from Kenrich Williams. Wiggins, alone on an island, launched a 3-point shot that didn't fall. By ever measurement a good shot - especially for a 38% 3-point shooter.

Here is the second 3-point attempt of the frame. Another Aaron Wiggins miss that came via a kick out by Jalen Williams as the Santa Clara playmaker had his back to the basket at the nail against a loaded paint. Clank.

Onto the third chance which sees Kenrich Williams step into a layup line 3-pointer with Wallace getting a shoulder into the defender to slow up his closeout. You guessed it, another miss on a clean look.

Finally, a make! Isaiah Joe runs the Thunder's trademark guard-to-guard screen with Joe slipping the screen to recieve the pass from Jalen Williams and nail the open trey ball.

The Oklahoma City Thunder did everything right on this fifth attempt - besides make the shot - Gilgeous-Alexander gets off the ball before crossing the timeline with Minnesota in a zone, Wallace throws an entry pass from the slot to Caruso in the middle of the zone who swings it to Williams for a wide open slot 3-pointer for a 35 percent shooter who is lethal off the catch. Miss.

Another good processing miss by Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lets the double team come to the ball, finds Jalen Williams flashing in the middle of the floor, he reverses it to Alex Caruso who uses a pass fake for good measure to throw off the closeout and sets up a wide-open triple. No dice. However, Lu Dort gets a tap-out rebound for Gilgeous-Alexander to knock down a second chance three at the top of the key.

Gilgeous-Alexander gets a step inside the 3-point line coming off a screen from Caruso. Four of the five defenders are loaded on his side of the floor, he skips it to the opposite slot for Wallace who draws the corner defender to the ball and makes the extra pass to Dort for an open corner look, brick

After that Dort miss, Wallace missed a wide-open chance at the top of the key, the Thunder get a third opportunity on one possession, as Caruso grabs the long miss and kicks to a wide-open Jalen Williams in the slot. With the defense not even threatening a closeout, the Thunder still missed.

These are the shots you dream about, a wide-open corner triple off the extra pass with the nearest defender in the next area code for a career 40% shooter. Again, OKC comes up empty as Caruso clanks it.

Oklahoma City plays catch on the outside to move the zone defense and generate another good chance for Jalen Williams in the slot and another miss.

Caruso spots the Timberwolves zone taking an extra step to cheat towards the ball and gets off the ball to Wallace for one of the easiest chances the Thunder will generate all season, no cigar.

Here we go, the Oklahoma City Thunder are getting to the beloved paint! Oh wait, As Dort attacks off the catch driving baseline, Naz Reid cuts him off and Dort tries to make the pass to a cutting Wiggins down the lane looking to score behind the defense and the ball is deflected to Jalen Williams in the slot as Alex Caruso wisely climbs up the arc to relocate to the slot to give Williams a bail out after the scramble drill. With six ticks on the shot clock, Caruso has to launch another open 3, and another one bites the dust.

The last miss is the most costly missed triple on arguably OKC's best look of the game. Up 3 with 33 ticks left, the Timberwolves again get caught overloading Gilgeous-Alexander's side of the floor and two quick passes swings the ball to Wiggins in the corner who misses the open attempt and leaves the door cracked that Minnesota eventually busted through.

It is easy to look at the box score and assume they simply "settled" for triples. But the paint was clogged and nothing was working - to stop taking open 3's would be to change things for the sake of changing them and not actually improve the processing or quality of looks. Ultimately, it is about the process more than the results - typically the better your process is, the results follow. The Thunder had a great process offensively against the Timberwolves but were burned by results.

This game did not come down to the frustratingly amount of missed 3's, it was all on the back of Oklahoma City's defense lapse, lack of effort on that end and in Jalen Williams' own words a feeling like they had won the game up 25 points - a rare contest that the Thunder did not run through the finish line.

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Rylan Stiles
RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network. 

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