It’s difficult to explain the atmosphere at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City to someone who hasn’t been there. But the sights on the television screen do it a sort of justice.
Ninety-nine percent of the patrons wear the complimentary t-shirt provided to create a monotone wall of fandom that surrounds the court. It’s a good visual representation of the crowd’s unity throughout the game.
Sure, it’s loud. The screams are deafening. The music blasts through the speakers. But it extends beyond that.
You’d swear the fans showed up hours prior to the contest to practice the rhythm of the chants, and in which situations they’d be used. Seemingly every person in the building knows exactly when to shout “De-fense!” Or, “O-K-C!” And does so without reservation.
Target Center has become a house of chaos for opponents in recent years as the Wolves have ascended the NBA ranks, but Oklahoma City is a different animal.
Fans waited outside the fence of a local airfield past 3 a.m. Tuesday in the pouring rain to greet the Thunder upon their return from not winning an NBA title or even securing a conference championship, just winning Game 4 of a best-of-seven series. It all gives off the vibes of high-level college sports, fitting given Oklahoma is a college sports state.
The Thunder are the state’s only top-tier men’s professional sports franchise, yet they’re treated with the same love and adoration as the Sooners. An invocation is delivered at center court just prior to the national anthem as part of the Oklahoma City pre-game festivities. It makes sense, because Thunder basketball feels like a religion of sorts in that part of the country.
“It’s a tough place. It really is a tough place to play,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “They’ve got a great fan base. Their home games are some of the loudest you’ll ever play in. They feed off of that. They’re already a team that plays hard and plays together and plays with momentum and confidence with that momentum, and they feed off of it. So, it makes it a tough environment.”
The Thunder went 32-8 at home during the regular season. They’re 7-1 in Oklahoma City in these playoffs, with six of the victories coming by 15 or more points. Minnesota was housed in Games 1 and 2 of this series.
The Thunder’s only home loss in these playoffs came in Game 1 of the conference semifinals to Denver. That felt like a miracle for the Nuggets, who trailed by 11 in the final five minutes, and were still down by nine with three minutes to play. Minnesota’s win in the Sooner State this season came via a 24-point fourth quarter comeback.
It feels like that’s what is required to beat the Thunder in their house. Now, in order to win this series, the Wolves will have to do so twice, starting with Game 5 on Wednesday. The odds are greatly stacked against them.
But Conley noted that Wolves players recognize how competitive this series has been, especially over the past two games played in Minneapolis. He said guys were already chatting in the locker room after a difficult Game 4 defeat about the next contest.
“I don’t think there’s a challenge of muscling up any kind of urgency now. It’s a one-game series for us. We’ve got to go in and win. We’ve got to figure it out,” Conley said. “So, we feel like when we play our best, hopefully our best can be better than their best.”
Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker said Minnesota cannot “concede to the situation.” They have no choice but to find a way. He cited the Timberwolves’ resilience — which has been exemplified all season as the group has responded well to being backed into a corner — as reason for optimism.
“Gotta play desperate. Gotta play like there’s no tomorrow because there isn’t,” Alexander-Walker said. “Right now, if we want to win, it’s not about how much we can score. It’s about can we get the stops? Can we rebound? Can we find a way to make winning plays relentlessly and consistently? For us, that’s the focus. For me, whatever that’s going to look like.
“… The only thing I care about is seeing another day. Donte (DiVincenzo) and I have a great relationship. We talk all the time about how we can help each other and the team. As long as that’s our focus, I have confidence that we can be OK.”
Winning two games in Oklahoma City is a monumental task. But DiVincenzo noted the only mission at the moment is to win there once and secure another opportunity to play on Minnesota’s home floor.
“Everybody has counted us out all year. We’ve been through a lot. We’re together as a locker room,” DiVincenzo said. “We don’t care what the media is going to say. We don’t care what TV is going to say. We’re focused on one game at a time and giving ourselves a chance on Wednesday.”
Leave a Reply