The Minnesota Timberwolves find themselves on the brink of elimination after a heartbreaking 126–128 loss to the OKC in Game 4. But amid the chaos of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 40-point masterpiece and a fourth-quarter rally that nearly worked, all eyes turned to the final 0.3 seconds of the game, and one costly mistake by Julius Randle.
Advertisement
With the Wolves down two, the ball went out of bounds, giving Minnesota one final possession with less than a second left. The time was enough for a tip-in, and it has been done before.
This time, the Wolves lacked execution. Randle was entrusted with the inbound, but he launched an errant pass that didn’t come close to giving Rudy Gobert or anyone else a shot at the rim. The Timberwolves didn’t even get a chance to tie it, leaving the home crowd stunned as the series tilted 3–1 in OKC’s favor.
This Julius Randle inbound pass with the game on the line pic.twitter.com/08nDnXpIJ2
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) May 27, 2025
Dwight Howard, watching the drama unfold, didn’t hold back. The former NBA star took to X to express his frustration and state that Randle should’ve taken a page out of his book to finish the sequence successfully. Howard wrote, “You supposed to throw it up as high as possible so gobert can dunk it like I did the spurs that time.”
You supposed to throw it up as high as possible so gobert can dunk it like I did the spurs that time
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) May 27, 2025
He was referring to his famous buzzer-beating lob finish against the Spurs while playing for Orlando, a perfectly executed inbounds pass that he converted into a game-winner with just 0.8 seconds on the clock. The Wolves had a fair chance to tie the series, but Randle fumbled it.
— HNH (@hoopsnhighlites) May 27, 2025
So, who deserves the blame? Was it Randle for the pass, or the head coach for the design? Given that Gobert was on the floor and 0.3 seconds only allows for a tip-in, the safest and smartest option would have been a lob near the rim. Instead, Randle appeared uncertain, and the execution reflected that.
Randle, who finished with just 5 points and 5 turnovers, had one of his worst games in a Wolves jersey. His struggles, combined with a quiet night from Anthony Edwards (16 points on poor efficiency), put the Wolves in a desperate position.
As the Wolves prepare for Game 5 in Oklahoma City, they’ll need a major turnaround to extend the series. That starts with Edwards reasserting himself and better composure from Randle if he’s to remain in crunch-time situations. A comeback from 3-1 looks like a mighty task. While it has been done before, it’ll be anything but a cakewalk for Ant-Man and Co.
