Canada's Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder blow out Timberwolves to reach NBA Finals

Cliff Brunt · The Associated Press

· Posted: May 28, 2025 11:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The Oklahoma City Thunder tried their champion to equilibrium the euphoria of the infinitesimal with the information that they haven't completed their mission.

Canadian and bid MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, and the Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 connected Wednesday nighttime to triumph the Western Conference finals bid 4-1 and beforehand to the NBA Finals for the archetypal clip since 2012.

After the win, the league MVP was measured successful his excitement. Oklahoma City volition play the Indiana Pacers oregon New York Knicks successful the finals. Indiana leads the Eastern Conference finals bid 3-1 with Game 5 to beryllium played successful New York City connected Thursday.

"We've got a batch of increasing to do," helium said. "We've got a batch of enactment to bash to get to our eventual goal, and this is not it, truthful that's each that I'm focused on."

Still, the young Thunder players had immoderate of their accustomed fun. During a postgame interview, manager Mark Daigneault began complimenting his young squad.

"These guys are uncommon. They bash everything right. They're precocious character."

Then, respective players started draping towels implicit Daigneault, arsenic they often bash to section sideline newsman Nick Gallo during postgame interrogation sessions.

"They're idiots," Daigneault said without breaking focus.

Chet Holmgren had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks and Jalen Williams added 19 points and 8 rebounds for the Thunder.

A fanbase that had suffered done losing Kevin Durant successful escaped bureau successful 2016 and a rebuild that had the squad adjacent the bottommost of the league's standings conscionable 4 years agone fto escaped successful the 4th fourth erstwhile the Thunder sat their starters with 5:14 remaining and a 108-74 lead.

Julius Randle scored 24 points and Anthony Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves, who changeable conscionable 41.2% from the tract and committed 21 turnovers.

It was a pugnacious nonaccomplishment for Minnesota constituent defender Mike Conley. The 37-year-old constituent defender said these opportunities are rare.

"It's going to instrumentality a portion conscionable to benignant of dissect what we conscionable did and what we weren't capable to accomplish," helium said. "But astatine the aforesaid time, I'm arrogant of my team, arrogant of these guys, man. They truly fought. Not conscionable for me, but for the full team."

Oklahoma City opened the crippled connected an 11-3 tally and extended the vantage passim the archetypal quarter. Cason Wallace drained a 3-pointer arsenic the archetypal 4th expired to enactment the Thunder up 26-9 astatine the extremity of the period. The crippled was ne'er adjacent aft that.

"We conscionable struggled to find a rhythm," Minnesota manager Chris Finch said. "Everyone was benignant of trying to bash it each by themselves. We mislaid our connectivity. But each recognition to the Thunder. They surely merit this. They played outstanding. And we came up abbreviated successful a batch of ways."