Thunder Crush Timberwolves 114-88 in Game 1/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 31 points as Oklahoma City beat Minnesota 114-88 in Game 1. The Thunder surged after halftime, while Anthony Edwards struggled under heavy defensive pressure. Game 2 is set for Thursday in OKC.
OKLAHOMA CITY — May 21, 2025 — The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t look like a team still recovering from a grueling seven-game series. Led by a second-half explosion from Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderthe Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-88 Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the MVP candidate, overcame a sluggish first half to finish with 31 pointsincluding 20 after halftimeas the Thunder used a dominating third-quarter run to seize control of the game and the series opener.
Trailing 48-44 at halftime, the Thunder flipped the script in the second half. A 10-0 run midway through the third gave Oklahoma City a 66-60 lead. The turning point came when Kenrich Williamsrarely used in the postseason, buried a midrange jumper and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions, energizing the home crowd and sparking a dominant stretch.
The Thunder outscored the Timberwolves 32-18 in the third quarter and never looked back.
Despite a hot start from Julius Randlewho scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, the Timberwolves looked rusty after a week-long layoff. Anthony Edwardswho had been averaging 26.5 points in the postseason, was held to just 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
The Thunder’s defense packed the paintchallenging Minnesota to beat them from the outside. Edwards said he plans to review film before Game 2 to better exploit the gaps.
The Thunder shot just 2-of-13 in the first half from Gilgeous-Alexander and still only trailed by four. Head coach Mark Daigneault saw that as a positive sign.
Their confidence showed in the fourth quarter. A highlight-reel spinning dunk by Chet Holmgren brought the crowd to its feet, and a circus shot by Gilgeous-Alexander that rolled in after a foul pushed the lead to 91-77 with seven minutes left.
Thunder fans will hope to see a repeat performance in Game 2 Thursday night in Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will look to bounce back from their first double-digit loss of the postseason.
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