For the Oklahoma City Thunder, the eruption came in the second half.
The Thunder outscored the Minnesota Timberwolves by 30 points after halftime in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals Tuesday to roll to a 114-88 victory.
Thunder guard and Most Valuable Player candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all players with 31 points on 10-of-27 shooting, though he did convert 11-of-14 free throws.
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards suffered an injury scare at the end of the first quarter when he tweaked his ankle, but he returned to the game and finished with 18 points.
Here are the winners and losers from Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder:
WINNERS
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the second half
This has been the pattern for Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the more consistent players in the NBA: even when he has a bad first half, he usually course corrects and wills his way to a steady, 30-point game. SGA went 8-of-14 in the second half, scoring 20 of his 31 points after intermission. He was aggressive and attacked the Timberwolves in the paint, getting to his preferred spots at the elbows for mid-range shots.
Compare that to his numbers from the first half, when Gilgeous-Alexander shot 2-of-13 from the field. While Minnesota did have some success with Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards guarding Gilgeous-Alexander in the first half, both got into foul trouble. Finding more effective ways of stopping SGA will be crucial the rest of the series.
Kenrich Williams and small ball in the third quarter
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault came up with a masterful adjustment at the half: with Minnesota getting a massive contribution from Julius Randle, who scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Daigneault opted to play a small lineup and put forward Kenrich Williams on Randle. Williams had barely played in the second round against the Denver Nuggets, but he used his size and physicality to match Randle’s, frustrating him.
Randle didn’t score a single point in the third quarter, the Thunder outscored the Timberwolves by 14 points in the period and OKC’s run started to put the game away.
The Thunder roll through in the second half
Oklahoma City clamped down on defense in the second half and started to see its shots fall. The Thunder outscored the Timberwolves 70-40 in the second half.
LOSERS
Minnesota abandons the paint
In the first half, though they weren’t lights-out, the Timberwolves shot the ball decently from the perimeter, going 10-of-28 (35.7%) from 3-point range. Minnesota, which carried a four-point lead at intermission, avoided working the ball into the paint.
In the second half, when the 3s stopped falling, things fell apart. The Thunder went on an extended run in the third quarter and the Timberwolves’ response was to continue strafing the rim with 3s. In the second half, Minnesota shot 21.7% from 3. Overall, the Thunder outscored Minnesota 54-20 in the paint.
The Timberwolves’ bench
For the most part, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch plays an eight-man rotation, with Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker being the three off the bench. Tuesday night, they struggled to provide meaningful and consistent contributions, struggling from the field. The trio combined to go 7-of-36 from the field (19.4%) and an abysmal 5-of-28 (17.9%) from 3.
