The Minnesota Timberwolves avoided falling into a 0-3 hole in the Western Conference Finals thanks to an unlikely hero.
Timberwolves rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. entered Saturday with just 20 total minutes over Minnesota’s first 12 playoff games. Head coach Chris Finch added him to the rotation for Game 3, a move that paid immediate dividends for the Timberwolves as they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Shannon was inserted to start the second quarter and scored nine of the Timberwolves’ first 12 points. His energy was instrumental in keeping OKC buried in an eventual 143-101 Minnesota win.
Shannon finished with 15 points on 5/8 shooting and was a +11 off the bench. Several fans pointed out how Shannon scored more points in just 13 minutes of action than the Thunder’s recently crowned MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Points tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 25, 2025
15 — Terrence Shannon Jr
14 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pic.twitter.com/bSh1zbVu5T
Terrence Shannon Jr. has more points than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) May 25, 2025
terrence shannon jr. outscoring the mvp pic.twitter.com/Pk70vDiNkZ
— coco (@lukadonchick) May 25, 2025
MVP outscored by Terrence Shannon Jr pic.twitter.com/HXRUAPyNDL
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) May 25, 2025
Even player-turned-analyst Jalen Rose keyed in on the Timberwolves rookie outscoring SGA during his postgame analysis of Game 3.
"[Terrence Shannon Jr.] had 15 today, and SGA had 14 [points]." 👀@JalenRose spoke on the boost Minnesota's bench gave them in a crucial Game 3 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/aRNfr8HCjg
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 25, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in scoring this season, averaging 32.7 points per game across 76 contests. His 14-point total on Saturday was his lowest this season.
The lopsided score had plenty to do with SGA’s low point total. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault pulled Shai out of the game at the 4:25 mark of the third quarter with OKC down 94-56. The 68-14 Thunder were never blown out during the regular season to this magnitude.
Shannon probably won’t outscore Gilgeous-Alexander again in Game 4. But the Illinois product likely earned himself some playing time going forward.
