Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch put his team's big win over the Oklahoma City Thunder down to an aggressive approach.

Anthony Edwards poured in 30 points as the Timberwolves routed the Thunder 143-101 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

It is now 2-1 to the Thunder in the series, with Oklahoma City's newly minted NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept quiet.

Indeed, Oklahoma City's five starters only managed to score 49 points between them, and Finch put that down to a front-foot mentality from his team.

"We just were more aggressive everywhere," Finch said.

"We were a little cleaner around him. Didn't foul. Our competitiveness was at an all-time high."

Gilgeous-Alexander managed just 14 points, and Finch was delighted with how Minnesota kept the Thunder's talisman under wraps.

"He's a phenomenal player," Finch said. "He's not going to have too many nights like this. So we feel fortunate for that, and we'll move on to Monday."

Prior to Game 3, the Timberwolves had never scored 70+ points in one half of a playoff game. They went ahead and did it twice tonight (72 in the first half, 71 in the second).#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/8Bac43DN4j

— Opta Analyst US (@OptaAnalystUS) May 25, 2025

Prior to this game, the Timberwolves had never scored 70+ points in one half of a playoff game. They did it twice on Saturday (72 in the first half, 71 in the second).

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault credited the Timberwolves for keeping their foot to the floor.

"They kept their foot on the gas tonight, and we were just never able to give ourselves any traction in game," Daigneault said.

"I thought their defensive pressure and physicality definitely stood out early. They were definitely throwing the first punch in the game."

Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, insisted it is now all about how the Thunder respond.

"You get punched, you get back up," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

"It's about responding, and that's what the next challenge is. We got punched in the mouth tonight. Next game, we're either going to get back up or not [and] we're going to lose the game. We've got a decision to make."

Edwards, meanwhile, has now had 15 30-point playoff games, which is the fifth most by a player aged 23 or younger, after LeBron James (21 games), Kobe Bryant (17), Kevin Durant (17) and Luka Doncic (17).

"That's what we need him to do, and when he does it, it takes us to another level," Finch said of Edwards.

"I thought that's what was really big in the first quarter. He got a couple of those steals. He was all over the place.

"He knew that we needed that type of start from our defense, and he brought it. It was really, really good."