OKC Thunder shooting struggles doom them vs Timberwolves, eliminated from postseason

It is a make-or-miss league, and well, the OKC Thunder missed—a lot. In fact, they just missed again. The Oklahoma City Thunder shot 36 percent from the floor, 32 percent from beyond the arc, and 90 percent from the free throw line in this contest. However, the young Thunder squad just looked…overwhelmed by the Timberwolves.

The OKC Thunder missed a ton of quality shot attempts, which has fallen for the youngsters throughout the season. However, the shots were not falling in this game, as evident by the shooting percentages. This forced the youngest roster in the NBA to get out of sorts and led to some sloppy play.

The OKC Thunder eliminated from the NBA postseason after shooting struggles in Minnesota.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed some bunny shots, was defended by his cousin, got in foul trouble, suffered a black eye, and chipped a tooth (two to be exact). Safe to say, it was not his night. SGA scored 22 points, hauled in seven rebounds, and dished out three assists while swiping a steal and swatting two shots. Though all this, despite shooting just 26 percent from the floor, Gilgeous-Alexander only turned the ball over once of the team’s 17 giveaways.

Josh Giddey took a massive step back, shooting 2-for-13 while hauling in five rebounds, dishing out four assists, and earning a steal on the defensive end. A far cry from his 31-point outburst on Wednesday. With that, no one picked up the slack to a high-enough degree.

Jalen Williams turned in a massive bounce-back game scoring 17 points on ten shots with six rebounds and two blocks on his Birthday.

Lu Dort continued to thrive in this one, scoring 17 points while making four triples and a few impressive rim finishes. But, ultimately, it was not enough, and the Timberwolves ran away with this one.

This OKC Thunder team still has an insanely bright future, the fact they fall just a game shy of the NBA Playoffs in a season they were pegged to win just 20 games this season. Now, the team will add at least two Lottery picks (Chet Holmgren’s return) and the projected 11th overall pick.