The Oklahoma City Thunder were the best team in the NBA during the regular season. The 68 wins were the most by any team and the net rating was the highest by a wide margin. The Thunder ranked fourth in offense and had the most stout defense.
The domination continued into the first round of the playoffs, as they dispatched of the Memphis Grizzlies fairly easily in four games.
Against the Denver Nuggets, though, they were thoroughly tested. The Thunder not only lost the opening game of the series, but were down 1-2 after three games. The series eventually went to a seventh game, but the young Thunder were up to the moment and advanced with a convincing 125-93 win at home.
The positive momentum continued into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, as they suffocated the Timberwolves to only 88 points and won by 26 points.
In Game 2 on Thursday, there was no letup, as they won 114-102.
The Thunder won both of the first two quarters by the same score of 29-25. The third quarter is when they broke open the game, finishing 35-14. The Thunder had a lead of 24 points at one point.
Statistically, the teams were close in many of the categories. Minnesota was 11-of-39 from downtown while OKC was 9-of-33. Minnesota finished 10-of-26 from the free throw line while OKC was 19-of-24. Minnesota had only one more rebound, although it did pull down four more than OKC on the offensive glass.
OKC had 10 more assists, seven more steals and only turned the ball over eight times, compared to 14 for Minnesota. OKC scored 22 points of turnovers while scoring 14 more points in the paint.
The recently-minted MVP of the NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($10,100; 57.75 FPTS) led the way with 36 points, three rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 39 minutes. He was his normal efficient self, converting 12-of-21 from the field, 1-of-2 from downtown and 13-of-15 from the line.
Jalen Williams ($7,200; 50.5 FPTS) finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a steal. Williams bounced back from a poor shooting Game 1 to convert 12-of-20 from the field. He did only shoot 2-of-6 from deep, though, and missed his only free throw attempt.
Chet Holmgren ($6,700; 29 FPTS) scored 22 points, but only chipped in four rebounds and two assists without any defensive stats.
Lugentz Dort ($4,000; 30 FPTS) was a team-high +29. He put up nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. He hit 2-of-7 shots from beyond the arc.
Cason Wallace ($3,500; 22.75 FPTS) continued his stellar play off the bench with eight points, three rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal in 25 minutes.
Isaiah Hartenstein ($5,600; 20.5 FPTS) played 27 minutes but only contributed six points, eight rebounds, two assists and a block.
Minnesota was led by Anthony Edwards ($9,600; 54.75 FPTS), who put up 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. He shot 12-of-26 from the field, only 1-of-9 from downtown and 7-of-10 from the line.
Jaden McDaniels ($5,700; 32 FPTS) was the second leading scorer for Minnesota with 22 points. He also chipped in two rebounds and three blocks. He shot 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-7 from downtown and drained both of his free throw attempts.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($3,300; 23 FPTS) contributed 17 points, two rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes off the bench. He went 3-of-4 from downtown.
Rudy Gobert ($5,100; 19.75 FPTS) did play 30 minutes but only had five points, nine rebounds, an assist and a block.
The big news for Minnesota is that Julius Randle ($8,100; 19.75 FPTS) sat the entire fourth quarter. He finished the night with 32 minutes, six points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal.
