OKC 'punched in the mouth' as Wolves muscle up

MINNEAPOLIS -- As excruciating as the most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history was for the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was pretty easy to explain.

After winning the first two games of the Western Conference finals, the Thunder were physically dominated in Saturday's 143-101 Game 3 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"It's not complicated," power forward/center Chet Holmgren. "Wherever they wanted to go, they got there. They did what they wanted to do. We didn't stop them."

Oklahoma City had a similarly poor start after taking a 2-0 lead over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, but the Thunder rallied from a 29-point deficit to win that Game 3 en route to a series sweep. Oklahoma City never mounted a serious comeback bid after falling into a 20-point hole in the first quarter against Minnesota.

"They kept their foot on the gas tonight, and we were just never able to give ourselves any traction in game," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "I thought their defensive pressure and physicality definitely stood out early. They were definitely throwing the first punch in the game."

Newly crowned MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of Oklahoma City's starters exited the game for good with minutes remaining in the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with only 14 points. That matched rookie reserve guard Ajay Mitchell for the team high, but it was Gilgeous-Alexander's lowest total this season, regular season or playoffs.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 34.5 points in the first two games of the series, finished 4-of-13 from the floor with four turnovers. He attempted only four free throws after taking a total of 29 in the Thunder's two home wins over the Timberwolves.

"We just were more aggressive everywhere," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. "We were a little cleaner around him. Didn't foul. Our competitiveness was at an all-time high. He's a phenomenal player. He's not going to have too many nights like this. So we feel fortunate for that, and we'll move on to Monday."

Oklahoma City's five starters combined to score only 49 points on 15-of-39 shooting, getting outscored by Timberwolves stars Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, who combined for 54 points on 21-of-32 shooting.

"We were taking the ball out of the net for the majority of the game, so they get back and can set their defense," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "And I don't care who you were in the NBA -- against a good defense, it's hard to score if they're set. In the past two games, it hasn't been that. We've been able to get stops and run and play. When you take the ball out of the net every time down, it's tough regardless."

It was an uncharacteristically awful performance for the Thunder's top-ranked defense, which allowed the Timberwolves to shoot 57.3% from the floor and 50.0% from 3-point range. Oklahoma City forced only 10 turnovers, its fewest this postseason.

"You get punched, you get back up," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's about responding, and that's what the next challenge is. We got punched in the mouth tonight. Next game, we're either going to get back up or not [and] we're going to lose the game. We've got a decision to make."

ESPN's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.