Timberwolves knockout Thunder in play-in tournament, set to face Nuggets as West’s No. 8 seed

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been capable of win one do-or-die recreation on the highway, however they have been unable to perform that feat twice.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took residence Friday’s play-in match recreation, 120-95, to clinch the No. 8 seed within the Western Convention and get rid of OKC.

Minnesota had one other probability to make the playoffs after their additional time loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday (L.A. is the seventh seed) – the Thunder ended the New Orleans Pelicans’ season on Wednesday.

It was a 10-point Timberwolves lead on the half, and after they went up 13 early within the third quarter, in addition they knocked Oklahoma Metropolis’s main scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of the sport briefly. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Karl-Anthony Cities #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talks with Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the course of the recreation in opposition to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder in the course of the 2023 Play-In Match on April 14, 2023, at Goal Heart in Minneapolis, Minnesota.E  (David Sherman/NBAE by way of Getty Photographs)

Grabbing his offensive rebound, Rudy Gobert’s elbow inadvertently hit his proper within the face, and Gilgeious-Alexander lay on the ground for a number of minutes. He walked into the locker room with a coach whereas icing his face and returned a couple of minutes later, however with a shiner on his proper eye.

Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dunks the ball on an alley-oop whereas Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder seems to be on within the second quarter of the NBA Play-In recreation at Goal Heart on April 14, 2023, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Photographs)

HEAT SURVIVE ANOTHER BULLS PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT COMEBACK TO EARN NO. 8 SEED IN NBA PLAYOFFS

The Thunder have been capable of lower a 16-point deficit all the way down to eight at one level within the third quarter, however Minnesota took off from there, bringing their lead again as much as 17 just some minutes later. That lead obtained as much as as excessive as 29 with a dominant fourth quarter.

Six Wolves, together with all 5 starters, have been in double-digit scoring: Karl-Anthony Cities (28), Rudy Gobert (21), Anthony Edwards (19), Mike Conley (14), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (12), and Kyle Anderson (11). Cities and Gobert additionally had 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively, 

The sport marked the return of Gobert from a team-imposed one-game suspension after he threw a punch at Anderson throughout a timeout – Gobert missed the primary play-in recreation.

Karl-Anthony Cities #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates drawing a foul in opposition to Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder with teammates Kyle Anderson #5 and Mike Conley #10 within the second quarter of the NBA Play-In recreation at Goal Heart on April 14, 2023, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Photographs)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Within the closing minutes, the Minnesota crowd chanted “We wish Denver.” They obtained them.

It is going to be the Timberwolves and the top-seeded Denver Nuggets, who’re led by back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic (who could win it a third-straight time) within the first-round of the NBA playoffs.