Every time the Minnesota Timberwolves made it close, the Oklahoma City Thunder had an answer.

When Donte DiVincenzo's 3-pointer knotted the game in the third quarter as the Wolves erased an eight-point halftime deficit, the Thunder came back with a 7-0 run. As Minnesota cut it to a one-possession game time and time again in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City always answered with a bucket. The end result was a 128-126 Wolves loss in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Monday night at Target Center in Minneapolis, and a 3-1 series deficit heading back to OKC.

The story was obvious from a quick look at the box score. OKC's two biggest stars — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams — combined for 74 points. Minnesota's stars — Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle — combined for just 21 points on 20 total shots. The Wolves turned it over 23 times, which translated to 22 Thunder points, and they gave up 19 offensive boards, leading to a deficit in the possession battle; the Thunder attempted 95 shots to just 84 for the Wolves.

"This isn't the formula to get it done, and I think that's the most important thing to take away from tonight," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said postgame.

Despite all that, it was still a one-possession game at the wire, and the teams traded free throws down the stretch. Gilgeous-Alexander made 1 for 2 from the line for a 126-123 Thunder lead; Naz Reid made a pair to cut it back to one. Gilgeous-Alexander hit a pair from the line; Edwards made one and intentionally missed the second, but the Wolves couldn't secure the rebound. OKC lost it out of bounds with 0.3 seconds to go, but Minnesota wasn't close to a tip-in try.

There was no mystery in the reason for the loss: turnovers and offensive rebounds. Really, the only reason the Wolves were even in the game was thanks to big efforts from their bench, led by Nickeil Alexander-Walker's team-high 23 points, DiVincenzo's 21, plus 11 from Reid and nine from Terrence Shannon Jr. From the starters, Jaden McDaniels scored 22. Meanwhile, Edwards had just 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting, and Randle a mere five while shooting 1 for 7 from the field.

"They had 19 offensive rebounds, and we had 23 turnovers. It doesn't matter who was gonna score, we can't win the game with those numbers right there," DiVincenzo said.

The Wolves didn't have it from the start. They turned it over seven times in the first quarter alone, and had 13 giveaways by the half. Edwards had trouble finding his shots. He and Randle each turned it over five times apiece for the game.

"They outplayed us, outrebounded us, got more 50-50 balls, wanted it a little more," Edwards said.

The Wolves were down 65-57 at the half and were lucky to not be down more. At that point, Edwards and Randle had only attempted six shots combined for nine total points. McDaniels and Alexander-Walker had combined for 23, though.

The thing about the Thunder is that in order to beat them, you need everyone firing on all cylinders. Minnesota's bench had it going Monday night, but its biggest stars didn't deliver, and the offense was bogged down by turnovers and an inability to secure a stop on the other end. That leaves the Wolves' backs against the wall facing a 3-1 series deficit.