Thunder rout Timberwolves in Game 5, storm into NBA Finals
Even before the basket went in, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spread his arms wide to his side in celebration.
Cason Wallace left his right arm high in the air, just waiting for the ball to drop through the basket.
Soon enough, inevitably, it did.
Wallace's corner 3-pointer at the buzzer was the exclamation point on a dominant first quarter for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who rode the hot start to a 124-94 home win that ended the Western Conference finals in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Thunder closed out the best-of-seven series.
'I didn't want to go back to Minnesota travel-wise and I wanted the fans to enjoy the moment with us,' Gilgeous-Alexander said.
The Thunder are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 and the fifth time in franchise history. The first three appearances came when the club was based in Seattle.
Oklahoma City will host Game 1 of the Finals against either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks on June 5.
'Happy for this moment, but this isn't our goal,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'This isn't the end of our road.'
The Wednesday outcome was evident early, as the Thunder buried the Timberwolves under the weight of a stifling defense and playmaking by Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
Oklahoma City put the game away quickly, leading by 17 after the first quarter and 33 at halftime.
The Timberwolves saw their season end in the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive year.
'I'm going to work my butt off this summer,' Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said. 'Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer, I'll tell you that much.'
Gilgeous-Alexander dished out five of his assists in the opening quarter as he again showed why he was selected the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP).
After the Timberwolves scored the game's first hoop, Gilgeous-Alexander had a hand in all five Oklahoma City baskets during an 11-0 run that started the Thunder's march toward the blowout.
In that stretch, Gilgeous-Alexander had four assists – three on Holmgren buckets – and drained a finger roll to start the separation.
On Monday, the Timberwolves started Game 4 red hot from the field but ultimately fell 128-126.
On Wednesday, Minnesota struggled on offense from the start, going just 1-for-11 from the field over the first five minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander outscored Minnesota in the first quarter 12-9 and scored or assisted on 24 of the Thunder's 26 first-quarter points.
Minnesota had more turnovers in the first half (14) than it did field goals (12). The Timberwolves finished with 21 turnovers.
Holmgren amassed 22 points and seven rebounds while Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
'These guys really make me feel like I'm a kid playing AAU basketball, like I'm 15 years old again,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'It's just fun. That's what makes us really good. We have so much fun being out there together.'
Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with 24 points while Edwards scored 19 on 7-of-18 shooting.
'They dominated the game from the tip,' Edwards said. 'Can't do nothing but tip my hat to those guys. They came ready.'
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Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
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Boulder, Colorado attack: What we know, who are the suspect and victims?
Eight people were injured in an attack on Sunday on a group of people in the United States city of Boulder, Colorado, who were campaigning for the release of captives held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. Police arrested a man who allegedly threw incendiary devices towards people. The FBI said it was investigating the attack as an 'act of terror'. In a social media post, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the attack as an anti-Semitic act. Here is what we know so far: A group of people were walking in a 'regularly scheduled, weekly peaceful event' aimed at galvanising support for the release of captives held in Gaza when they were attacked, according to an official news release shared by the Boulder Police Department. The police were called at 1:36pm (10:36 GMT). The news release said that witnesses saw the attacker using a makeshift flamethrower as he lobbed incendiary devices – meant to start fires – at the gathering. Witness videos circulating on social media showed a shirtless man appearing to hold two glass bottles, which looked like Molotov cocktails. A Molotov cocktail is a very simple incendiary weapon. It comprises a bottle filled with a flammable liquid covered by a wick, which is lit on fire before the bottle is thrown at a target. They are named after Vyacheslav Molotov, the foreign minister of the Soviet Union during World War II. In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, and the country experienced heavy bombing. Molotov insisted that the Soviet Union was not dropping bombs, only food parcels. In response, the Finns threw handmade explosives towards Soviet tanks, sarcastically dubbing them 'Molotov cocktails'. The attack took place at the outdoor Pearl Street Mall, a pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder that stretches four blocks. It is home to retail stores, art galleries and restaurants. The mall is a two-minute drive, or 1.1km (0.7 miles), from the University of Colorado, Attorney General Phil Weiser released a statement on Sunday, saying that the attack was 'against a group that meets weekly on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall to call for the release of the hostages in Gaza'. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a nonprofit focused on combating anti-Semitism – which was accused of double standards in January for defending a salute made by billionaire Elon Musk at an inauguration rally for US President Donald Trump – released a statement saying the event was part of an international campaign called 'Run for Their Lives'. The campaign involves weekly gatherings worldwide where Jewish community members run and walk in solidarity with the captives taken by Hamas and other Palestinian groups during their attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. 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We all have a responsibility to stop these antisemitic acts.'House Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, released a statement on X, saying: 'Our heartfelt prayers are with all of our Jewish brothers and sisters impacted by this unconscionable act of terror, and we thank law enforcement for their swift response. Antisemitism has no place in our nation or anywhere throughout the world. It must be crushed. We stand with the Jewish community today and always.'On May 22, a man named Elias Rodriguez was charged after fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staff workers in Washington, DC. He was charged with murdering foreign officials, causing death with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.
Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
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Al Jazeera
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Police said a male suspect was taken into custody after an attack that injured multiple people in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI director described as a 'targeted' act of terror. While stressing that the information was 'very preliminary,' Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said on Sunday that the man was apprehended following calls to the police dispatch of someone with a weapon who was 'setting people on fire'. Redfearn said he wasn't in a position to identify the suspect yet, noting that he'd been taken to the hospital. He said there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging 'from very serious to more minor.' The Boulder attack occurred in the vicinity of a walk to remember the Israeli captives who remain in Gaza. FBI Director Kash Patel, in a statement, described the incident as a 'targeted terror attack' and said agents were on the scene. Redfearn, however, said it was too early to speculate about a motive. 'We are not calling it a terror attack at this moment,' he said. 'This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable,' he said. 'I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.' More to follow.
