The Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder will square off at the Target Center on Friday night in the game that determines the winner of the play-in tournament.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has returned to Friday’s game:
Status alert: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (face) has returned to Friday's game.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) April 15, 2023
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, their star player, had an injury during the game and left for the locker room.
With astounding averages of 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in 68 games, the former Kentucky star had his best regular season ever.
He qualified for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game and had a field goal percentage of 51.0%.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (face) headed to locker room Friday:
Status alert: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (face) headed to locker room Friday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) April 15, 2023
One of the league’s best surprises has been the Thunder, who entered the season with no hopes of making the playoffs.
With a 40-42 record, they earned the tenth seed in the Western Conference and are just one win away from the NBA Playoffs.
In their opening match of the play-in round on Wednesday night, the Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans (on the road in Louisiana) 123-118.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Rudy Gobert on this play and is heading back to the locker room.
Hope he's okay 🙏 pic.twitter.com/1xzZ2IM835
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 15, 2023
Since the 2020 season, when Chris Paul was still a member of the roster, the team has failed to reach the playoffs.
The Timberwolves, who went 42-40 and were the eighth seed in the west, had been anticipated to perform significantly better.
For the first time since the 2018 campaign, they reached the playoffs last year.
