In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder used an offensive explosion in the second half to coast to a comfortable win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The first half was defensive-minded, with forward Julius Randle being the lone white-hot scorer. He had 18 first-half points, cruising to a postseason career-high five triples. Minnesota would take a four-point lead at the break, shortly before OKC's offensive explosion.
After rougher first-half scoring outings from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, the two would function as the ripcord that would rev up the entire OKC engine in the third quarter. The likely soon-to-be MVP in Gilgeous-Alexander saw a few circus shots fall, surpassing 30 points on the night.
Here's how X, formerly known as Twitter, reacted to Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals:
Let's get the Western Conference finals started ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/gVpCBWf7s9
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 21, 2025
WCF FIRST FIVE. pic.twitter.com/aD1eGQVtLy
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 21, 2025
Wait, SGA back in the butters?
— Ryan Chapman (@_RyanChapman) May 21, 2025
Thunder in 5.
8-0 start for the Wolves.
— Nick Crain (@CrainNBA) May 21, 2025
home whites with a whiteout and that classic Thunder court looks so damn good
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) May 21, 2025
Mike Conley, Julius Edwards, and Anthony Edwards were fired up about a missed call on the other end, and Edwards got hit with the technical foul
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) May 21, 2025
Two big lineup lasts about two-and-a-half minutes before Cason takes Chet’s place. Makes sense with Gobert on the bench
— Matt Ravis (@mattravis) May 21, 2025
Shai being so aggressive early
— TF (@ThunderFocus) May 21, 2025
OKC has forced 5 Minnesota turnovers in 7 minutes and Alex Caruso is still on the bench.
— Addam M. Francisco (@SuaveCEO_) May 21, 2025
Mark Daigneault is challenging the call of out of bounds on Chet.
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) May 21, 2025
Free throw shooting continues to be a weird problem for the Thunder in the playoffs
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 21, 2025
you should never be challenging an out of bounds call in the first quarter
— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) May 21, 2025
Low scoring quarter
— TF (@ThunderFocus) May 21, 2025
23-20 MIN
Anthony Edwards limped to the locker room after the 1st quarter ended. Not sure what happened but it was a noticeable limp
— The Daniel Bell© (@BasketballGuruD) May 21, 2025
Happy to see Isaiah Joe getting minutes, team needs his shooting
— (@Three_Cone) May 21, 2025
That first quarter had a lot of muuuuuuuck.
— THE UNCONTESTED PODCAST (@The_Uncontested) May 21, 2025
Thunder defense has been feisty, need to close out on three point shooters a bit quicker.
Offense needs to make shots that aren’t at the free throw line.
Alex Caruso pulverized roughly 42 ball screens then draws the offensive foul on Randle.
— Derek Parker (@DParkOK) May 21, 2025
Edwards is back on the bench
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 21, 2025
Cason Wallace just keeps climbing the list of my favorite Thunder players.
— Evan Riggs (@EvanRRiggs) May 21, 2025
It's already becoming VERY difficult to get Cason Wallace off the floor.
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) May 21, 2025
Becoming even harder not to talk yourself into him as a starter.
Being down 4 feels fine
— TF (@ThunderFocus) May 21, 2025
This has been the best half of Julius Randle’s career by a wide margin.
— Ivan White (@ivanbball13) May 21, 2025
SGA went 2/13 in the first half while Julius Randle has 20 points.
— Nick Crain (@CrainNBA) May 21, 2025
OKC only being down 4 at half is a blessing.
THERE WE GO SHAI
— (@Three_Cone) May 21, 2025
Joe comes in for Chet. Back to the single big.
— THE UNCONTESTED PODCAST (@The_Uncontested) May 21, 2025
Feels like the right matchup against Minnesota.
Thunder think this could be a Joe series. Getting more minutes in this game than he did against the Nuggets for the most part
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 21, 2025
Another from Shai, another from Dub, another Wolves timeout.
— Derek Parker (@DParkOK) May 21, 2025
Thunder by six. https://t.co/612BVZdDs7
Small lineup really working for the Thunder right now. Have a 10-0 run and Wolves call another timeout
— The Daniel Bell© (@BasketballGuruD) May 21, 2025
Dub woke up
— Matt Burton (@IAmMattBurton) May 21, 2025
OKC is KILLING Minnesota in the paint, 34-8. The Timberwolves have just made 12 threes vs 4 for OKC.
— Addam M. Francisco (@SuaveCEO_) May 21, 2025
OKC is +26 in the paint. Minny is +24 from 3. The Thunder are +2 right now, up 62-60.
JDub gonna make me cry
— J.D. Silva (@jdsilva_) May 21, 2025
I don't think the Thunder used Kenrich Williams in a single high-leverage minute in either of the first two rounds. Now he just casually comes into the third quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals and swings a stretch.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) May 21, 2025
Kenrich Williams with five-straight points,
— Derek Parker (@DParkOK) May 21, 2025
The Kenny Hustle game.
SGA, who plays basketball like a human slinky, gets a different whistle than everyone else in the league because he moves differently than everyone else in the league.
— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) May 21, 2025
Chet Holmgren opening the 4th with a 3 pointer, a dunk and 2 blocks.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) May 21, 2025
My god, what a move from Chet. Has looked for separation on drives all game and is just catching it and yamming it under the rim in the 4th. Caught it shy of the rim there, turned over his other shoulder and stuffed it in traffic.
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) May 21, 2025
SGA just borderline recreated the Russ layup against the Lakers
— Josh Callaway (@JoshMCallaway) May 21, 2025
That was incredible
SGA hits the most unbelievable And-1s in the game
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) May 21, 2025
Masterful 4th quarter for Chet so far
— KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) May 21, 2025
The real grifters are the basketball accounts grifting for interaction off Shai grifting free throws.
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) May 21, 2025
Absolutely unreal.
— Up The Thunder (@BoomtownHoops) May 21, 2025
Love him before they all do. SGA is an absolute spectacle. #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/kWxXEjgtqT
okc is a small market that is mostly homegrown. should be a team everyone loves.
— Isaac Harris (@IsaacLHarris) May 21, 2025
yet they are so easy to dislike.
Everyone always love an underdog story until they start beating the teams and players you like lol
— Michael Martin (@MichaelOnSports) May 21, 2025
A tale as old as time in basically every sport
Thunder up 18 with three minutes to play,
— Derek Parker (@DParkOK) May 21, 2025
This one's on ice — dominant second-half performance from OKC tonight.
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