OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half, and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-88 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 8 of 14 field goals in the second half after a rough start.
“I didn’t particularly change my mindset, honestly,” he said, “I just tried to continue to be aggressive, trust my work.”
Julius Randle scored 28 points for sixth-seeded Minnesota, but just eight in the second half.
Anthony Edwards, who had been averaging 26.5 points per game in the playoffs, was held to 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
“I definitely got to shoot more. I took 13 (expletive) shots, but I’ll say probably just get off the ball a little more,” Edwards said. “Play without the ball. I think that would be the answer, because playing on the ball, they’re just going to double and sit in the gaps all day. So I’ve got to go watch some film and take it apart and figure it out.”
Edwards said the Thunder packed the paint, and he expects the Timberwolves to take advantage of that tactic going forward. Game 2 is Thursday in Oklahoma City.
“They bank on us not making shots, I guess, because every time I go to the rim it’s like four people," he said. “So yeah, I guess they just be clogging the paint. They put like five, four bodies in the paint, make you kick it out. So keep making the right play.”
Oklahoma City was just two days removed from eliminating Denver in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Minnesota hadn’t played in a week.
Minnesota led 48-44 at halftime as Randle scored 20 points and made 5 of 6 3-pointers. Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 11 points on 2-of-13 shooting before the break.
“For us to play as poorly as we did offensively in the first half and be down four was a major victory for us at halftime," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
The Thunder went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter to take a 66-60 lead. A short time later, Kenrich Williams, a rarely-used sub this postseason, hit a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to put the Thunder up 71-62. Oklahoma City outscored Minnesota 32-18 in the third quarter to take a 76-66 advantage into the fourth.
A spinning dunk by Holmgren in traffic put Oklahoma City ahead 86-75 and drew a roar from the crowd. Gilgeous-Alexander threw up a prayer as he was being fouled while falling to the floor. The ball rolled in, and he made the free throw to make it 91-77 with seven minutes remaining.
“It’s Game 1," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “They won at home. Congrats to them. They played really well. There’s another game in two days.”
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