The Minnesota Timberwolves found themselves on the opposite end of a 114-88 blowout loss at the hands of the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The game was competitive early on, with the Timberwolves leading for most of the way. However, the Thunder took control in the third quarter and never looked back, outscoring the Timberwolves by 70-40 in the second half to take Game 1.
After a slow start, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished the contest with 31 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and three steals on 10 from 27 shooting.
The Timberwolves’ offense is completely unrivaled during the game. They struggled from behind the arc, finishing 15 out of 51 from three-point range, setting a new record for the most three-pointers made by any team in the Conference Finals or later, according to NBA Writer Tom Haberstroh.
While setting records from deep can be positive, it meant little with such poor efficiency. The Timberwolves shot 29.4% from downtown.
Julius Randle scored 28 points, eight rebounds, on ni scored 28 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and shot 9 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 6ne of 13 shooting, including hitting five of his six shots from downtown; however, his performance wasn’t enough to lift the Timberwolves to a Game 1 victory.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch acknowledged the need for adjustments after the Game 1 loss.
“We need to find a rhythm in this series,” coach Chris Finch told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “Every series is a little bit different in how people guard you and whatnot. I thought we came out and tried to play the same way we always did, and that wasn’t going to work tonight. We’ve got to figure out a different rhythm to play.”
