The Western Convention finals sees the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder and the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves sq. off for a spot within the NBA Finals.
The Thunder are aiming to achieve the NBA Finals for the primary time since 2012. This postseason, OKC swept the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies earlier than needing seven video games to get rid of the No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets.
In the meantime, the Timberwolves try to safe their first look within the NBA Finals in franchise historical past. The Wolves already knocked off the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers in seven video games earlier than dispatching the No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors.
Here is what has stood out from the Thunder’s Recreation 1 win and what to anticipate from Recreation 2.
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Recreation 1: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 88
What stood out for the Thunder: This was a story of two halves for the Thunder, who trailed by as a lot as 9 factors within the first half earlier than outscoring the Timberwolves within the second half, 70-40, to guide by as a lot as 26 factors.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s a frontrunner for the MVP award, stated in his walk-off interview with ESPN that the crew got here out a bit “rusty.” He completed with a game-high 31 factors after a shaky begin during which he had 11 factors on 2-for-13 taking pictures within the first half.
The Thunder shot a blazing 61.9 p.c from the sector within the second half, together with 61.5 p.c from past the 3-point line. In the meantime, the surprised Timberwolves made simply 35 p.c of their pictures within the closing 24 minutes, together with a woeful 21.7 p.c from past the arc.
What stood out for the Timberwolves: The Timberwolves want to determine a solution to restrict their turnovers towards the Thunder, which had the top-rated protection within the common season. The Timberwolves completed with 19 turnovers, on which the Thunder transformed 30 factors.
The Timberwolves had been additionally outscored within the paint, 54-20. Julius Randle had 28 factors on 9-for-13 taking pictures, however he didn’t get a lot offensive assist. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who appeared to show his ankle within the second quarter, had simply 18 factors on 5-for-13 taking pictures, together with going scoreless within the fourth quarter.
RELATED: How Anthony Edwards leans on his connection with Tom Crean
What’s in retailer for Recreation 2: For The Timberwolves, they should get issues happening the offensive finish, together with getting extra assist from their bench. Their reserves shot a woeful 9-for-41 from the sector. Edwards must play like a celebrity for this crew to have an opportunity. And as a crew, they settled for too many 3s and should be far more aggressive attacking the paint.
For the Thunder, this was an ideal win on their dwelling courtroom, during which they survived a sluggish begin, stored their confidence and roared again to show the sport right into a rout. Going ahead, they should put collectively this sort of effort for a full 48 minutes – as a substitute of ready till the second half to blow up – as a result of right here’s to betting the Timberwolves’ offense goes to look significantly better in Recreation 2.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand lined the league for Sports activities Illustrated, the Los Angeles Instances, the Bay Space Information Group and the San Antonio Specific-Information. Observe her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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