The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves produced an incredibly high-level basketball game for the first 47 minutes of Game 4 in the Western Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The final minute was set for a thrilling finish with the Wolves holding possession down three with eight seconds left. That’s when the game flow stopped and the foul game began.
The Thunder have been fouling up three all season, and save for one high-profile disaster earlier in these playoffs, the strategy has mostly worked out in their favor. Oklahoma City executed its fouling up three strategy to perfection this time, and it allowed them to hold on for a series-changing win.
OKC beat the Wolves, 128-126, in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. The Thunder are going back home for Game 5 with a chance to clinch an NBA Finals appearance for the first time since Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden led them there in 2012.
All three of Oklahoma City’s new young stars produced signature performances in the win. Still, most of the conversation after the game was about the Thunder’s late game strategy, the ethicality of fouling up three, and how the NBA can address it going forward.
Minnesota cut its deficit to two with nine seconds left when Rudy Gobert rebounded a Donte DiVincenzo miss and put it back in. The Wolves immediately fouled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and he split his two free throws. The Wolves called timeout, advanced the ball to halfcourt, and readied to draw up a play for a game-tying three-point attempt. Instead, they never got off another field goal because OKC executed two fouls in the final seconds, and the Thunder made enough free throws to hold on.
Many fans around the country felt like they got robbed of the chance to see a classic ending because the Thunder decided to foul up three. Here’s a small sampling of the social media reaction:
The NBA has to change the rule to eliminate the “smart” play of fouling up 3. Should be 1 shot and the ball if you foul outside the 3-point line up 3 with shot clock off. Turned an amazing game into a FT contest late, robbed us of a great finish.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) May 27, 2025
I understand why it’s done but fouling up 3 is so lame
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) May 27, 2025
Nothing I love more than watching fundamentally sound fouling up three. The NBA, it’s fan-tastic
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) May 27, 2025
the foul up 3 shit is anti basketball
— Abdel (@abdel_taco) May 27, 2025
I hate fouling up 3, as a fan it’s boring to watch & I also don’t like just giving teams points
— VP of Wu Tang Financial (@BarbChairScott) May 27, 2025
I’ve said this before:
Fouling up three is the smart strategy. I also HATE it and want it removed from the game.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 27, 2025
I’m certainly not gonna blame teams for fouling up 3 to their advantage. Rather, it’s on the league for finding a way to make it less feasible.
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) May 27, 2025
Credit the Thunder for pulling off the strategy. OKC had to successfully defend two Wolves’ inbounds passes and foul the player with the ball before he could get off a shot attempt. The Thunder had to make their free throws, and keep Minnesota off the offensive glass when Anthony Edwards missed his final free throw on purpose.
There was still drama and suspense down to the final buzzer. At the same time, it would have been a lot more exciting to see Minnesota attempt a three-pointer at the end of regulation to try to send the game to overtime.
What could the NBA do to deter fouling up three? One solution would be to increase the penalty for intentionally fouling with a lead to one shot and possession. Proponents of keeping the current rules in place would argue the rules of the game shouldn’t change based on the situation and clock. Of course, the NBA already lets teams advance the ball to mid-court out of timeout only in the last two minutes of regulation and overtime, so there is some precedent.
Teams that are trailing late in the game always utilize intentional fouling to prolong the game and give themselves a chance for a comeback. Should the team with the lead be able to utilize the same tactics to preserve it? Teams with the lead have been fouling up three for years in both the NBA and college even if some coaches refuse to do it. Games like this will always make a potential rule change a talking point again.
Rule changes that greatly benefit the fans’ viewing experience should always be strongly considered by the NBA. The Thunder and Wolves gave us one of the best games of the season, but instead of talking about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 40 points, Jalen Williams’ breakout scoring game (34 points on 24 field goal attempts), or OKC’s defense again forcing Minnesota into a ton of turnovers, the main narrative comes back to fouling in the final seconds. This was an amazing game either way, but it deserved a shot at a classic ending.
