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Associated Press
6 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Thunder can clinch NBA Finals spot with a win over the Timberwolves
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder can clinch a spot in the NBA Finals with a win at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The Thunder lead the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series 3-1 after a 128-126 victory on Monday night in Minneapolis. Now, the Thunder return home for Game 5 seeking their first NBA Finals trip since 2012. The game will be televised at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the newly crowned league MVP, is averaging 30.8 points and 8.3 assists per game in the series. He is coming off a 40-point, 10-assist, nine-rebound performance in Game 4. Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City's other All-Star, had 34 points in Game 4 and is averaging 23 points in the series. Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren has caused problems for his hometown Timberwolves. The 7-foot-1 forward is averaging 17 points and 1.3 blocks in the series and has shot 55% from the field over the four games. Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards is averaging 24 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the series, but his supporting cast has been spotty. Julius Randle, the team's No. 2 scorer during the regular season, scored only five points on 1-for-7 shooting in Game 4. He is capable — he scored 28 points in the series opener and 24 in Game 3. A Minnesota win would force a Game 6 in Minneapolis on Friday night. ___ AP NBA:
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
OKC's Jalen Williams is key as Thunder look to clinch the West, Wolves try to stay alive in Game 5
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jalen Williams, the Oklahoma City Thunder's second scoring option, looked like a budding superstar during Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. Julius Randle, the Minnesota Timberwolves' second option, looked like a bystander. If those results repeats themselves in Game 5 on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, the Thunder could clinch the series and be heading to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 while the Timberwolves likely will head into next year still having never gotten past the conference finals. Williams scored 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting in Game 4, a 128-126 win for Oklahoma City that gave the Thunder a 3-1 lead in the series. His biggest shot came in the fourth quarter. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw a pass between Jaden McDaniels' legs while doing the splits and falling to the ground, and Williams caught it and drained a 3-pointer that gave the Thunder a 116-109 lead. 'Honestly I think the clock was low so I was just kind of like, 'Shoot it.' ... Just shots in general, I work really hard and shoot a lot of them, so when I'm shooting them, that's kind of my mindset going into it: Just being aggressive and take what the defense gives me,' Williams said. The timing of the shot was critical, and it gave the Thunder some much-needed cushion against a Timberwolves team that did not quit. 'This journey is not easy, and it's not meant to be easy,' Williams said. 'These experiences will make us better. Down the stretch, you've got to know the score, obviously, but you can't let that affect the game. They're going to score. They're a really good team. ... I think a lot of it is we just stayed with it.' While Gilgeous-Alexander has garnered most of the attention for the Thunder this season, Williams quietly has stacked up accolades and played a key role in their league-best 68-14 regular-season record. Williams was named an All-Star for the first time, then was selected third-team All-NBA and second-team all-defense. It hasn't been all smooth for Williams in the playoffs — he hit some ruts against Denver in the Western Conference semifinals and he scored only 13 points in the Game 3 blowout loss at Minnesota on Saturday. But Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the 24-year-old Williams keeps improving because he has the right approach to the game. He is averaging 23 points on 49% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from 3-point range in the series. 'The thing I'm impressed with about him is his ability to learn from his experiences very quickly is impressive,' Daigneault said. 'He had some games in the Denver series that he wasn't great offensively. He just looks at it in a very intentional way and improves.' Where some players' growth can be measured year by year, Williams seemingly takes steps daily. 'I just think his carryover and his growth from game to game is exciting,' Daigneault said. 'He's still a young player, as great of a player as he is.' Williams helped the Thunder overcome a game from a Timberwolves team that did a lot of things right. The Wolves shot 51.2% and made 18 3s in Game 5. Before Monday's game, teams that shot 50% or better from the floor and made 18 or more 3s were 55-0 in the playoffs. Randle wasn't responsible for the fireworks. After posting 28 points in Game 1 and 24 points in Game 3, he scored five points on 1-for-7 shooting and had five turnovers in Game 4. He also had a 2-for-11, six-point clunker in a Game 2 loss. 'I've got to figure out a way to get myself in position to be more aggressive, rather than just standing, spectating or trying to crash the glass,' he said. 'Or, I can just find other little things to do.' ___ AP NBA:
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Thunder aim to secure conference finals victory over the Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -8.5; over/under is 220.5 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Thunder lead series 3-1 BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder look to clinch the Western Conference finals over the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five. The Thunder defeated the Timberwolves 128-126 in the last meeting on Tuesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 40 points, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Timberwolves with 23.
Fox News
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Thunder eye NBA Finals berth, push Timberwolves to brink of elimination
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff career-high 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder staved off the Minnesota Timberwolves fourth quarter comeback attempt on Monday. The recently crowned NBA MVP also had 10 rebounds and nine assists in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder's 128-126 victory on Sunday night pushed the T'Wolves to the brink of elimination. The Thunder will take a commanding 3-1 lead to their home court on Wednesday when the series shifts back to Oklahoma City. Jalen Williams scored 34 points, while Chet Holmgren added 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in a statement game in his hometown that helped the Thunder hold off several pushes by the T'Wolves to tie the series. Gilgeous-Alexander made a pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds left to stretch the Thunder's lead back to three. OKC fouled Anthony Edwards with 3.5 seconds remaining, and his intentional miss of the second free throw to try to keep possession was tracked down in the corner by Gilgeous-Alexander and flung out of bounds in an attempt to drain the clock. Minnesota had one more inbounds pass with 0.3 seconds remaining that Williams grabbed, as the Thunder took another step towards the NBA Finals. Edwards was limited to 16 points, and Julius Randle was also bottled up by the Thunder's relentless defense. Randle finished Game 4 with just five points. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Thunder vs. Timberwolves: OKC limits Anthony Edwards, gets 40 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to secure Game 4 thriller
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards during the first half of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs Monday, May 26, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Oklahoma City's Game 3 hangover is a thing of the past. The Thunder's active defense and efficient offense returned to form Monday night for a 128-126 thriller over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. With the win, Oklahoma City secured a 3-1 series lead and stands one win away from a berth in the NBA Finals. Advertisement The Thunder will face a chance to clinch the series at home in Game 5 Wednesday night. Oklahoma City set the tone early while forcing seven turnovers en route to a 37-30 lead at the first-quarter break. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards didn't attempt his first field goal until 35.1 seconds remained in the quarter. It was a sign of things to come as Edwards and Julius Randle faded with a chance to tie the series. Minnesota kept in striking thanks to an offense that was effective when it wasn't giving the ball away. The Timberwolves shot 50% from the field and 8-of-18 from 3 in the first half. And they still trailed 65-57 at the break. Strong shooting from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Donte DiVincenzo off the bench kept the Timberwolves in the game through the fourth quarter. Thunder thwart multiple Minnesota runs A DiVincenzo 3 capped a 11-2 third-quarter run to tie the game at 79-79. But as they did each time the Timberwolves threatened, the Thunder responded, this time with an 8-0 run in response to re-seize control. Advertisement Minnesota threatened again late in the fourth quarter while closing the gap to 111-109. But the Thunder extended the lead back to 116-109 with a 5-0 burst capped by a Jalen Williams 3 on a pass by a falling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander through the legs of Jaden McDaniels. Then Gilgeous-Alexander thwarted Minnesota's last gasp with five made free throws in the game's final 14.5 seconds. Thunder All-Stars shine Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams set the tone for Oklahoma City's offense. Each scored 13 points in the first quarter, and they combined for 36 points at the halftime break. The Thunder repeatedly turned Timberwolves turnovers into offense on the other and successfully penetrated and shot over Minnesota's defense when it got into a halfcourt set. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 40 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Williams tallied 34 points, five assists and two steals. Thunder lock down Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle Edwards' lack of activity on offense was not an accident. Advertisement OKC's designated stopper and first-team All-Defensive team selection Luguentz Dort spearheaded the Thunder effort to limit Edwards' looks that resulted in just two shot attempts and four points from Edwards before halftime. When the game was done, Edwards had attempted just 12 field goals while tallying 15 points and six assists. Randle was even less of a factor while posting five points on a 1-of-7 night from the field. This story will be updated.
