Coming off a grueling seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets, some thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would come into the Western Conference Finals a step slow.
It would’ve made sense.
The Thunder just played a physically taxing game against Nikola Jokic 48 hours earlier. It’s a young team that has never played this deep into the season before. For the first time, OKC had to bring itself back to earth after a massive series-clinching win.
Despite a rocky first half, OKC did all of those things with relative ease.
OKC dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking Game 1 114-98 and holding Anthony Edwards to zero points in the fourth quarter.
While the final result was a blowout, OKC’s performance in the first half suggested anything but.
The Thunder trailed Minnesota by four entering the break, scoring just 44 points and getting a lackluster two-of-12 shooting performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander still scored 12 points in the opening half, but did so with a flurry of free throws that he can’t count on getting as the playoffs get more physical.
Julius Randle set the tone for Minnesota, scoring 20 points and hitting five threes in the first half, carrying over the momentum from his standout performance against the Golden State Warriors in the second round. Edwards also contributed 12 points and the Timberwolves did as well as anyone could’ve imagined in making life difficult on Gilgeous-Alexander.
The rest of the Thunder played poorly as well. As a team, OKC shot just five-of-19 on layups and floaters in the first half. With Minnesota chasing it off the line, OKC was given several decent looks at the rim, highlighted by a transition attempt by Jalen Williams in the final seconds of the second quarter that ended in a blown layup.
Attempts that the Thunder had been cashing in on all season were coming up as blanks.
Despite its struggles and what felt like a solid first half from Minnesota, OKC trailed by only four as the halftime buzzer sounded.
In a game that history would say was a predictable letdown spot for OKC, Minnesota left the door ajar.
“To play that poorly offensively and not get knocked out was huge,” OKC coach Mark Daigneault said. “We lost the rounds, but we didn’t get knocked out.”
Unsurprisingly, OKC didn’t make the same mistakes in the second half. Randle cooled off and Edwards was held in check by the Thunder’s array of athletic perimeter defenders.
Williams provided Gilgeous-Alexander with some shot-creating aid, creating several good looks for himself and others and knocking them down, eventually upping his total to 19. He was also elite on the defensive end, thieving away five steals and igniting transition buckets for the Thunder.
Williams’ contributions on both ends were monstrous for the Thunder, but it was Gilgeous-Alexander’s return to MVP form that caused OKC’s avalanche of offense.
After his dismal first half, Gilgeous-Alexander went eight-of-15 in the second, getting to his spots and cashing in with ease. He kept getting to the line, eventually ending with 14 free throws, but it was his ability to hit from the midrange and create looks for himself that swung the tide offensively.
Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge on offense with a brief appearance from Chet Holmgren, who was masterful in his role in the fourth quarter, hitting a crucial corner 3-pointer and throwing down multiple dunks during the run that deprived Minnesota of any hope of coming back.
But, as always with OKC, it started on the defensive end.
Holmgren was elite around the rim, blocking two shots and contesting countless others. It was Williams, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace on the perimeter, staying in the face of Edwards and Randle and not allowing Minnesota’s star duo to get comfortable down the stretch and combining for six steals. It was the defensive strategy that OKC has employed all season being proven right.
Collapse on aggressive ball handlers and let open shooters shoot.
It’s what OKC has done since last season. It’s seen its strategy backfire when P.J. Washington and Aaron Gordon nailed open 3 after open 3 in big spots. But, as it should be based upon the numbers, it has stuck to its guns. And in this game, it worked.
Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker combined to shoot just 17% from deep in Game 1. At some point in this series, OKC will pay for leaving them open.
Reid and DiVincenzo have shown themselves to be big-time performers in playoff games in the past, and one off game shouldn’t convince anyone in OKC that leaving them uncontested is a good idea going forward.
That said, whatever OKC has done defensively all season has undoubtedly worked.
The Thunder has one of the best defenses in the history of the NBA, and whatever it has been doing, it should continue to do.
Time will tell if Minnesota’s open shooters make OKC pay and swing a game in the Timberwolves’ favor. Odds are, they probably will.
But Game 1 should serve as a reminder to anyone who forgot what OKC looked like all season. If you let it hang around, you’ll likely live to regret it, and unless Jokic walks through the door for Minnesota, no one on its roster should cause OKC to drastically change what it did in Game 1.
Rest or no rest, OKC came to play in the series opener, and if Minnesota wants to keep pace, it’ll have to find a way to score on the Thunder defense and contain its offense going forward.
