Thunder vs. Timberwolves score: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC pull away for 1-0 lead in West finals

The Thunder were spurred by a 17-2 run in the second half to run away with Game 1 of the Western Conference finals

The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder took Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, pulling away for a 114-88 win. OKC took control after both teams had a sluggish first half, and the Thunder never looked back after a 17-2 run in the third quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 31 points, eclipsing the 30-point mark for the fourth game in a row.

The Thunder trailed by four at halftime before dominating the final 24 minutes, outscoring the Wolves 70-40. OKC shot 50% from the floor for the game, and 11 different Thunder players scored.

OKC held the Wolves to 88 points on 34.9% shooting. Julius Randle led the Wolves in scoring with 28 points (9-13 FG, 5-6 3PT, 5-6 FT), but 20 of them came in the first half. Anthony Edwards finished with 18 points (5-13 FG, 3-8 3PT, 5-7 FT), but didn't score in the fourth quarter. Edwards also went to the locker room in the second quarter to deal with an ankle injury, but he returned to the game.

Minnesota shot just 15 for 51 from deep and were outscored 54-20 in the paint. The Thunder had 31 points off turnovers to the Wolves' 10. According to Cleaning The Glass, Minnesota shot just 6 for 12 at the rim and 4 for 12 on short midrange shots. Oklahoma City's defense was dominant.

The Wolves -- who lost just two games in the first two rounds against the Lakers and Warriors -- were playing for the first time since last Wednesday. The Thunder, meanwhile, just closed out the Nuggets in Game 7 on Sunday.

The Thunder are now three wins away from their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2012. They remain the heavy favorites to win the 2025 title (-215 at DraftKings). The Wolves, who are seeking their first ever NBA Finals appearance, are now 3-9 in 12 Western Conference finals games.

[May 20, 2025 at 11:12 pm ET · James Herbert]

Game 1 final: Thunder 114, Wolves 88

After a slow start on Tuesday, the Thunder outscored the Timberwolves 70-40 in the second half to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 31 points (10-27 FG, 0-4 3PT, 11-14 FT), nine assists, five rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes for Oklahoma City. Jalen Williams added 19 points (7-18 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-4 FT), eight rebounds, five assists and five steals in 33 minutes. Big men Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren scored a combined 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting.

The Thunder couldn't get much going offensively in the first half and were fortunate to be down by only four points at halftime. They took control of the game with a 17-2 run in the third quarter, and their defense did not allow Minnesota to close the gap.

Julius Randle led the Wolves in scoring with 28 points (9-13 FG, 5-6 3PT, 5-6 FT), but 20 of them came in the first half. Anthony Edwards finished with 18 points (5-13 FG, 3-8 3PT, 5-7 FT), but didn't score in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota shot just 15 for 51 from deep and were outscored 54-20 in the paint. The Thunder had 31 points off turnovers to the Wolves' 10. According to Cleaning The Glass, Minnesota shot just 6 for 12 at the rim and 4 for 12 on short midrange shots. Oklahoma City's defense was dominant.

Game 2 is Thursday in OKC.

[May 20, 2025 at 11:02 pm ET · James Herbert]

McDaniels fouls out

With 5:21 left in the fourth quarter, Jaden McDaniels fouled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a drive. It was his sixth foul, so he's done for the night after playing just 24 minutes.

It's very difficult to defend SGA without fouling, but McDaniels is going to have to figure out how to do that during this series. He's an elite defender, and his combination of length and lateral quickness make him by far the Wolves' best bet to slow SGA down.

After a corner 3 by Lu Dort, the Thunder are now up 99-84 with 4:24 left in the fourth. This is their largest lead of the game.

Minnesota is shooting 15 for 48 from 3-point range in the game and 5 for 20 in the second half.

The Wolves have a great bench, but tonight Naz Reid, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Donte DiVincenzo have scored a combined 21 points on 7-for-34 shooting. That trio has shot 5 for 26 from 3-point range.

[May 20, 2025 at 10:54 pm ET · James Herbert]

SGA (basically) made a shot from the floor

With 7:00 left in the fourth quarter, OKC is up 91-77. The last and-1 that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made felt a bit demoralizing for the Wolves, as he was basically on the floor when he released the ball:

Shoutout to Lu Dort for "pulling the chair" against Julius Randle to force the turnover.

Chet Holmgren has been everywhere in the fourth, by the way. Here he is rejecting Donte DiVincenzo (who fouled him afterward):

And here he is throwing down a dunk, assisted by Gilgeous-Alexander:

Holmgren has scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth.

[May 20, 2025 at 10:39 pm ET · James Herbert]

End of third quarter: Thunder 76, Wolves 66

OKC took control of this game with a 17-2 run, and it outscored Minnesota 32-18 in the third quarter. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't look comfortable in the first half, but he scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting in the third quarter and is up to 23 points in the game. 

Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels has four fouls entering the fourth quarter and has been limited to 17 minutes. Anthony Edwards picked up his fourth foul late in the third quarter, too.

After scoring 20 points in the first half, Julius Randle went scoreless and only attempted one shot in the third quarter.

[May 20, 2025 at 10:30 pm ET · James Herbert]

Interesting shot profiles in this one

According to Cleaning The Glass, the Timberwolves are shooting 3 for 6 at the rim and 2 for 8 on short midrange shots with about three minutes left in the third quarter. 

Points in the paint: Thunder 38, Wolves 10.

Also according to CTG: Minnesota is 4 for 16 on corner 3s. OKC is 0 for 1 on corner 3s. Kinda wild!

[May 20, 2025 at 10:26 pm ET · James Herbert]

Thunderstorm?

OKC is on a 10-0 run and has a 66-60 lead with 3:46 left in the third quarter. The Thunder are playing small right now, with both Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren on the bench and Kenrich Williams playing center.

This game is getting chaotic, which is just how OKC likes it.

[May 20, 2025 at 10:22 pm ET · James Herbert]

Thunder up

With 5:25 minutes left in the third quarter, OKC is up 62-60. It has looked much better offensively after halftime -- in the third quarter, it has scored 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Jalen Williams has seven of those points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has five of them, including this and-1: 

Jaden McDaniels is on the bench for the Wolves after picking up his fourth foul.

[May 20, 2025 at 9:52 pm ET · James Herbert]

Halftime: Timberwolves 48, Thunder 44

Minnesota hasn't had an amazing offensive half, but its defense has been phenomenal. The Thunder's halfcourt offense has not been able to get anything going. Luckily for OKC, though, it was able to cut its deficit to four points at the very end of the half -- Jalen Williams poked the ball away from Julius Randle, and Isaiah Joe ended up getting fouled in transition, where he made two free throws.

The Thunder have forced 11 turnovers and eight of the live-ball variety. That's good, but they can't rely on that exclusively.

OKC has barely been able to generate any 3s -- it is shooting 3 for 8 from deep. On the other end, the Wolves have found a ton of 3s -- they're shooting 10 for 28 from deep. Some of that is by design, but some of Minnesota's good shooters have missed open looks, too. 

Julius Randle is continuing his phenomenal postseason run. He has a game-high 20 points (6-8 FG, 5-6 3PT, 3-4 FT) in 17 minutes.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 11 points for OKC, but he's shooting just 2 for 13 from the field. He's doing a good job getting to the line, at least. 

[May 20, 2025 at 9:35 pm ET · James Herbert]

Edwards returns

Seems like Anthony Edwards is fine! He checked back into the game after a timeout at the 7:01 mark in the second quarter. He hasn't been super aggressive on offense, but appears to be moving normally.

Also: Julius Randle is feeling it. He made a deep 3 in transition and now has 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

Aside from Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein, though, nobody's been particularly efficient tonight. These are both elite defensive teams, but yikes.

With 3:19 left in the first half, the Wolves are up 40-36. Minnesota is shooting 14 for 39 (35.9%) from the field, and Oklahoma City is shooting 13 for 34 (38.2%).

[May 20, 2025 at 9:28 pm ET · James Herbert]

No Ant, no problem?

Still awaiting an update on Anthony Edwards' status, but the Wolves are up 33-29 with 7:01 left in the second quarter.

Julius Randle is up to 13 points (4-6 FG, 4-5 3PT) after making a couple of 3s. He also charged into Alex Caruso, who is a maniac. That's Minnesota''s only turnover of the quarter so far, though.

Isaiah Hartenstein has 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting for OKC. It's been all floaters and dunks for him, as you'd expect.

[May 20, 2025 at 9:17 pm ET · James Herbert]

End of first quarter: Wolves 23, Thunder 20

Twelve minutes into the conference finals, neither team has established much rhythm. OKC has gotten almost all its points in transition or at the free throw line, and Minnesota has cooled off after a hot start.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has nine points 2-8 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-7 FT), two assists and two steals for the Thunder. The Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards has seven points (2-3 FG, 1-1 3PT, 2-3 FT), three rebounds, a block and two turnovers.

Something to monitor: At the end of the first quarter, Edwards went back to the locker room to get checked out. He appeared to turn his ankle late in the period.

[May 20, 2025 at 9:10 pm ET · James Herbert]

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

With 1:52 left in the first quarter, the Timberwolves are up 20-17. Minnesota has already committed six turnovers, though, and four of them were live-ball turnovers.

The Thunder are an unbelievable defensive team, and they are a turnover-forcing machine. But the Wolves just can't afford to give them easy baskets in transition.

Another note: Minnesota has inserted wing Jaylen Clark into the game. He has not been in the rotation throughout the playoffs, but he impressed coach Chris Finch with how he played against OKC during the regular season. He's guarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander late in the first quarter. 

[May 20, 2025 at 8:59 pm ET · James Herbert]

Ant's chasedown

Turnovers are absolutely deadly against the Thunder ... unless you immediately race the other way and get a stop:

That's the highlight of the night so far. Anthony Edwards' athleticism is crazy, obviously.

[May 20, 2025 at 8:57 pm ET · James Herbert]

Wolves start hot, but...

Early in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, it's a good-news/bad-news situation for the Timberwolves.

Good news: They started the game on an 8-0 run! On their first three possessions, Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards made 3s and McDaniels made a midrange jumper.

Bad news: Rudy Gobert is in early foul trouble. Less than two minutes into the game, he checked out of the game after fouling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the rim and committing a loose ball foul on Chet Holmgren on consecutive possessions.

More good news: About six minutes into the game, Oklahoma City is shooting just 3 for 9 from the field and has yet to make a 3-pointer. Minnesota, meanwhile, has made four of its five 3-point attempts.

More bad news: Anthony Edwards picked up a technical foul. Also, Gilgeous-Alexander has already attempted seven free throws (and the Wolves haven't attempted any).

With 6:11 left in the first quarter, Minnesota is up 16-11.