OKLAHOMA City Thunder renewed their mastery over Minnesota Timberwolves with an 118-103 Game 2 rout in the NBA Western Conference Finals on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored career playoff-high tying 38 points, including 13-of-15 free throw shooting, to go with eight assists, and three steals as the Thunder surged to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Jalen Williams added 26 markers, 10 rebounds, and six assists, while Chet Holmgren contributed 22 markers, four rebounds, and two assists for the Western Conference top-seed Thunder.
“I was happy that we won so that I can really enjoy these last few days,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We just prioritize what matters… When you win games, do it together and have fun, everything else comes with it.”
Oklahoma City led by as many as 24 points late in the third quarter behind conversions from Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren, but the Timberwolves clawed within 10 with just more than three minutes remaining.
However, that was as close as Minnesota would get late as the Thunder repeatedly answered in the closing minutes with inside hits by Holmgren and free throws by Gilgeous-Alexander.
“We take great pride in having the same environment day to day,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “We had the same environment when we were winning 20 games as we do now.”
“We’re going to need everybody to be ready to go. The series always evolves in unpredictable ways, and so we’ve got to keep off our tools sharp, and we’ve got to be able to put different lineups on the floor,” he added.
Anthony Edwards finished with 32 points, shooting 12 of 26 from the floor but just 1 of 9 on 3-point attempts to go with nine rebounds and six assists for the slumping Timberwolves.
Jaden McDaniels added 22 markers, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid had 17 and 10 points, respectively, while Julius Randle struggled with just six markers in the defeat./PN
BOX SCORE:
OKLAHOMA CITY 118 — Gilgeous-Alexander 38, Jal. Williams 26, Holmgren 22, Dort 9, Caruso 9, Wallace 8, Hartenstein 6, Joe 0, K. Williams 0, Wiggins 0.
MINNESOTA 103 — Edwards 32, McDaniels 22, Alexander-Walker 17, Reid 10, DiVincenzo 8, Randle 6, Gobert 5, Conley 3.
Quarterscores: 29-25; 58-50; 93-71; 118-103.
