One possession at a Time: OKC's gritty Game 4 Win

In the heart of Minneapolis, with the thunder of a hostile crowd and the echoes of a historic Game 3 loss still ringing in their ears, the Oklahoma City Thunder stepped into a fight, not just against the Timberwolves, but against the weight of expectation, playoff pressure, and postseason inexperience. OKC answered with a 128-126 victory and find themselves one win away from returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.

From the opening tip, it was clear: this wouldn’t be a game won by finesse. It was going to be earned through a fight. Head coach Mark Daigneault said it simply: “It was a 48-minute game… just a brawl from the jump.” The opening five minutes were a collision course of contact, contested rebounds, and high-stakes intensity. It wasn’t clean, but it was honest basketball.

The Timberwolves' role players punched hard. Nikhil Alexander-Walker hit big shots. So did McDaniels and DiVincenzo. “It felt like those guys didn’t miss,” Daigneault admitted. “Some of that was on us. Some of it, you just tip your cap.”

And yet, in the middle of the chaos, OKC stood tall. The trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams combined for 95 points, a blistering response to Game 3’s disappointment. SGA was composed and surgical. Chet was “a monster,” according to his coach, battling as the primary big all night. And Jalen? He delivered the kind of shot-making they’ve spent all year preparing for. The work showed.

“I didn’t learn anything tonight,” Daigneault said, smiling slightly. “This team is easy to bet on.”

Just continuity from OKC is all it took. “Very normal couple days. Very normal shootaround,” he explained. That steadiness translated to a poised performance. They didn’t chase the scoreboard. They didn't try to win the game in the first half, they stacked possessions, one by one.

The closing stretch? Controlled chaos. But this time, OKC owned it. They executed out-of-bounds plays. Managed their timeouts. Used their fouls wisely. Secured the final rebound. Lessons from past heartbreaks, like fouling up three and watching it backfire, were stripped of emotion, studied, and applied.

Off the court, Daigneault spoke with the clarity of a coach who understands the stakes but refuses to let his young team get ahead of itself. With a 3-1 series lead, he emphasized the same approach for the next 48 hours: “Get back to our baseline. Focus on winning possessions. Not the game. The possessions.”

And even amid praise, the message remained grounded. There’s still room to grow. “We took a huge step forward offensively,” he acknowledged. “But defensively, there’s more to clean up.”

With Minnesota on the brink, Daigneault knows desperation can’t be faked. He expects the Timberwolves’ best punch in Game 5. But now, so will the Thunder. Because this group, one of the youngest in the league, is maturing before our eyes.

“I thought the difference tonight was we leveled up with them,” he said. And in doing so, Oklahoma City inched closer to something real. Something earned.

One possession at a time. One win away from the NBA Finals.