The Oklahoma City Thunder rolled over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fifth game of the NBA Western Conference Finals, winning 124-94, and earning the right to compete in the NBA Finals for the fifth time in the franchise’s history.
The last time Oklahoma City was in the finals was in 2012 when they had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
Now, led by the 2025 Most Valuable Player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they will compete against the winner of the Eastern Conference final series between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks (3-1 in favor of the Pacers).
This will be the fifth final for the Thunder franchise, which also has three Western Conference titles when they were the Seattle Supersonics.
How was the Thunder’s decisive victory?
The Thunder started the game determined to win, as they achieved a 26-9 lead from the first quarter. Oklahoma City’s offense did not stop and scored 39 points in the second quarter.
“We have a lot of work to do to reach our final goal, and this is not all, so that’s the only thing I’m focused on,” expressed Gilgeous-Alexander after the victory.
SGA was actually the best player on his team with 34 points and was chosen as the MVP of the series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals series, closing the series with a 4-1:
- Game 1: OKC took the lead in the series with a 114-88 victory.
- Game 2: The Thunder extended their dominance with a 118-103 victory, putting the series at 2-0.
- Game 3: Minnesota responded with a resounding victory 143-101, reducing OKC’s lead to 2-1.
- Game 4: OKC achieved a close victory 128-126, being just one win away from advancing to the Finals.
- Game 5: The Thunder secured their qualification with a dominant victory 124-94, winning the series 4-1.