For the first time since 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to the NBA Finals and after a dominant regular season like few others in NBA history, it was only fitting that the Western Conference top seed sealed their Finals berth in emphatic fashion.
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If the 4-3 series win over the Denver Nuggets was Oklahoma City’s way of proving they could match it with a genuine heavyweight when the lights are at their brightest, this was their way of telling the rest of the league they have arrived — and they’ll be here for a long time.
The Thunder may have lost Game 3 by 42 points but that was just an anomaly as otherwise Oklahoma City was near-unstoppable, sealing a 4-1 semifinals series win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday with a blowout 124-94 win.
With the win, the Thunder became the first time in league history with four victories by at least 30 points in the same postseason, according to Marc Stein.
As Oklahoma City stumbled at times in its series in Denver, there was some talk — externally — that if the Thunder fell short again in the second round a trade for Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo could be on the cards.
That was when MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was doing his thing but there were question marks as to whether the rest of OKC’s core, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, could support him on a nightly basis.
Well, all three scored combined for 170 points in Games 4 and 5 to prove this is a championship-calibre core that is building in Oklahoma City and given Gilgeous-Alexander at just 26 years old is the oldest of three, there is every chance the Thunder could be dominating the NBA for years to come.
As Richard Jefferson said in commentary for ESPN, there is a “new powerhouse” in the Western Conference.
“So you’re going to have to retool. Every team is going to have to try figure out a way to beat Oklahoma City,” Jefferson added.
But for now, the focus is on winning the franchise’s first title since 1979, when they were the Seattle Supersonics.
The Thunder will play either the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks in the Finals. The Pacers currently hold a 3-1 series lead, with Game 5 on Friday at 10am AEST.
Haliburton leads Pacers to 3-1 lead | 01:20
The Timberwolves needed to make a fast start to silence the Paycom Center crowd and a Julius Randle 3-pointer was the perfect way to do just that, especially considering he was coming off a poor Game 4 performance where he was benched for the second time in the series.
But instead of setting the tone for an early Minnesota statement, it was the Thunder who answered in emphatic fashion with an 11-0 run and Gilgeous-Alexander was at the centre of it.
First, he drove towards the rim and drew the attention of all five Timberwolves defenders before kicking it out to a wide-open Chet Holmgren for the corner triple.
By the final two minutes of the first quarter, as Oklahoma City opened up a 23-7 lead, Gilgeous-Alexander (11) alone had outscored the Timberwolves.
Minnesota was getting good looks but after that early Randle 3-pointer, the shots just weren’t falling and even when the Timberwolves were able to get into the paint they weren’t able to execute, whether it was Nickeil Alexander-Walker blowing a layup or later having his shot disrupted by Isaiah Hartenstein.
The only way Minnesota was able to break down the swarming Oklahoma City defence was when Anthony Edwards was aggressive in getting to the rim, like he did to draw a foul and make a pair of free throws to stop a 10-0 Thunder run.
That pressure on the rim from Edwards was also helping create open looks for his teammates but they weren’t executing.
On the other hand, when Gilgeous-Alexander drove into a double-team and then kicked it out to Cason Wallace, the second-year guard drained the triple on the buzzer.
It was a painful way to cap off the quarter for the Timberwolves, who shot just 15 per cent from the field (3-for-20) to fall behind 26-9.
The nine points were Minnesota’s fewest in any quarter in franchise postseason history and it didn’t get any better early in the second quarter either.
While Randle may have opened the must-win game with a bang it all went downhill from there as the Timberwolves forward struggled to deal with Oklahoma City’s relentless on-ball pressure.
It forced him into four turnovers and saw Minnesota fall further behind 36-14 just three minutes into the second as Chris Finch called a quick timeout.
Wolves win Game 3 v Thunder to trail 2-1 | 00:57
The Timberwolves had more turnovers (seven) than made field goals (five) at that point.
To his credit, a determined Randle was able to poke the ball away from Williams to earn an easy transition dunk but it was a rare highlight in what was otherwise an Oklahoma City beatdown.
The Thunder took a commanding 65-32 lead into halftime, with their big three of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren combining for 50 points while the pesky Alex Caruso had eight points and three steals off the bench.
Wallace, meanwhile, was suffocating on defence and, having shown flashes as a rookie in the playoffs, really put it together to become a crucial role player for OKC.
Minnesota, on the other hand, had more turnovers (14) than field goal attempts (12) with Edwards (nine points) their leading scorer.
It didn’t get any closer from there and with six minutes left and Oklahoma City leading by 34 points, Minnesota waved the white flag as the Thunder booked its spot in the Finals.
NBA FINALS SCHEDULE (All times AEST)
Game 1: Thunder vs Knicks/Pacers @ OKC (Friday, 6 June 10.30am)
Game 2: Thunder vs Knicks/Pacers @ OKC (Monday, 9 June 10am)
Game 3: Knicks/Pacers vs Thunder @ Knicks/Pacers (Thursday, 12 June 10.30am)
Game 4: Knicks/Pacers vs Thunder @ Knicks/Pacers (Saturday, 14 June 10.30am)
*Game 5: Thunder vs Knicks/Pacers @ OKC (Tuesday, 17 June 10.30am)
*Game 6: Knicks/Pacers vs Thunder @ Knicks/Pacers (Friday, 20 June 10.30am)
*Game 7: Thunder vs Knicks/Pacers @ OKC (Monday , 23 June 10am)
* if necessary
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