Terrence Shannon Jr. has had one of the more difficult paths to earning minutes as a rookie this NBA season, dueling with fellow first-year players for the scraps left behind a veteran-laden, guard-driven Minnesota Timberwolves squad.
So in Saturday’s Western Conference Finals Game 3 matchup between Minnesota and Oklahoma City in Minneapolis, Shannon simply blazed his own trail, going on an instant 5-0 personal run when he entered the game at the start of the second quarter and scoring 15 points in a 143-101 blowout of the Thunder.
It might have seemed an unexpected breakout for the uninitiated, but Shannon – the former All-American guard out of Illinois – has made something of a habit of statement performances in his rare opportunities to really stretch his legs on the floor.
After months of subsisting off DNPs and garbage-time minutes, Shannon found an opening in the rotation when injuries hobbled the Timberwolves in early February. He had previously scored no more than five points in an NBA game, but during a two-week stretch late in the month, he averaged 16.6 points (which included a career-high 25-point performance) in the five games in which he logged at least 20 minutes. Given the runway, Shannon was guaranteed offense.
He played only 13 minutes on Saturday, but he made the very most of them, starting the second quarter off with an and-one on an eight-foot floater and coming back a possession later to knock down a 16-footer.
Although Minnesota led 34-14 after the first quarter, Shannon’s work in the second – which also included a steal for a breakaway layup and a pair of free throws – extended the T-Wolves’ lead from 20 to 31 at the half, all but putting the game away.
The Thunder are up 2-1 in the series, so Shannon and Minnesota still have plenty of work ahead. But for the Timberwolves (and Shannon himself), it’s good to new their rookie is up to the occasion.
