MINNEAPOLIS — Just before the end of the third quarter, Minnesota Timberwolves fans groaned as Rudy Gobert airballed a free throw.
A few moments later, Gobert made one of the most improbable moves he has ever made – a behind the back dribble and layup that sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy.
That move put the Wolves up 17 and kick-started the party at Target Center in a 120-95 Wolves victory over Oklahoma City.
The Wolves will now play in a playoff series for the second consecutive season for the first time since 2004 and will head as the No. 8 seed to No. 1 seed Denver for Game 1 on Sunday. As time ran out in the fourth quarter, the crowd chanted, "We want Denver."
Friday's matchup was a referendum on the Wolves' two big man lineup against a much smaller Oklahoma City team.
Before Gobert's flashy play in the third, Karl-Anthony Towns punished the Thunder's smaller front line. Towns helped the Wolves build a double-digit lead with 11 points in the quarter. Guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker got the surprise start and guarded his cousin, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and limited him to 22 points on 5-for-19.
Anthony Edwards added 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Gobert finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wolves found success early in an aggressive Towns on the offensive end of the floor as Edwards got off to a slow start. Towns had three of the Wolves' nine field goals as they led 24-23 after one.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker got the start in place of Kyle Anderson, and Alexander-Walker had the task of guarding his cousin, Gilgeous-Alexander. The Wolves defense forced the Thunder into an 8-for-23 first quarter, but allowed six second-chance points.
The Wolves opened up the game a bit in the second quarter as their double big lineup punished Oklahoma City's bench early in the quarter. Towns had 15 points in the first half while Kyle Anderson also had it humming on offense with 11. The Wolves opened the quarter on an 11-3 run and led by as much as 14 before going into the locker room ahead 57-47. Alexander-Walker limited his cousin to 3-for-12 in the half.
Towns had 11 in the third quarter to extend the Wolves' lead from there but it was when he came off the floor that the Wolves made moves that sealed the win. Edwards had a layup with 1 minutes, 30 seconds to play, then Alexander-Walker stole the inbounds pass, and found Edwards for a three and a quick five points total to put the Wolves up 92-76. Then Gobert contributed his theatrics on a chaotic play in which he originally lost the ball but got it back.
