Staff Reporter.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-88 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.
It was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth consecutive game with 30 or more points and his eighth in 12 playoff games this season. He also added a game-high nine assists on Tuesday.
With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander iced the game with a spectacular play. The All-Star guard drove towards the basket and began falling, but not before flipping the ball toward the hoop as he went down.
The ball rolled around the rim briefly before dropping through, and Jaden McDaniels was called for the foul.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished off the three-point play to put the Thunder up by 14. He finished 10-of-27 from the floor and 0-of-4 from 3-point range, but he made 11-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Early on, the Timberwolves’ defence gave Gilgeous-Alexander fits, holding him to just 2-of-13 shooting in the first half.
In the second half, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault moved Gilgeous-Alexander off the ball, and it helped the 1.98 metre (Six feet, six inch) guard find a rhythm.
Overall, Oklahoma City scored 31 points on 19 Timberwolves’ turnovers. Minnesota managed only 10 points off the Thunder’s 15 giveaways.
“We try to play to our identity,” said Oklahoma City superstar Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 31 points despite going 2 of 13 from the floor in the first half. “We did a good job of that on defense. Our defense definitely gave us life early in the game and kept us in it.”
Game ones are feel-out games. In game two they’re going to make adjustments and we’re going to have adjustments. It’s a series and it’s best-of-seven, not first to one,” Gilgeous-Alexander added.
“It’s a good start but there’s a lot more work to do.”
Game two of the series takes place in Oklahoma City on Friday (01:30 BST). The top-seeded Thunder have been the West’s top team all season long.