Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 34 as Thunder tops Timberwolves to advance to NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 on Wednesday night to win the Western Conference finals series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.
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Chet Holmgren had 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Jalen Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder.
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A fanbase that had suffered through the loss of Kevin Durant through free agency in 2016 and a rebuild that took the team near the bottom of the league's standings just four years ago let loose in the fourth quarter when the Thunder sat their starters with 5:14 remaining and a 108-74 lead.
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Oklahoma City will play the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks in the finals. Indiana leads the Eastern Conference finals series 3-1 with Game 5 to be played in New York City on Thursday. Oklahoma City will have homecourt advantage when the Finals begin on June 5 because of its league-best 68-14 regular-season record.
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Julius Randle scored 24 points and Anthony Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves, who shot just 41.2% from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
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Oklahoma City opened the game on an 11-3 run and extended the advantage throughout the first quarter. Cason Wallace drained a 3-pointer as the first quarter expired to put the Thunder up 26-9 at the end of the period.
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Oklahoma City led 65-32 at halftime and 88-62 heading into the fourth quarter.
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