The Oklahoma City Thunder crushed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 at home Wednesday night, advancing to their first NBA Finals since 2012 after winning Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
This wasn’t just any win. It was a beatdown for the history books.
Game 5 marked OKC’s fourth victory by at least 30 points during these playoffs – the most by any team in a single postseason in NBA history.
They’re making a habit of these blowouts too. This was their second straight closeout game that turned into a rout, following their 32-point Game 7 win over Denver.
Only two other teams have ever had multiple 30-plus-point closeout wins in a playoff run: the 1987 Lakers and 2008 Celtics. Both went on to win championships.
"The focus through the distraction of a closeout game to go to the Finals is what was most impressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "I mean, they were laser focused today, and that allowed our best to come to the surface."
The Thunder have now racked up 61 double-digit wins this season when you count both regular season and playoffs.
That’s the most in NBA history.
They’ve surpassed some legendary teams: the 2017 Warriors (60 wins), the 1971 Bucks (58), the 1996 Bulls (56), and the 1972 Lakers (56).
Shai and Company Dominate
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge with 34 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and two steals. Chet Holmgren added 22 points and seven rebounds, while Jalen Williams contributed 19 points and eight boards.
The game was essentially over by halftime. OKC built a massive 65-32 lead after holding Minnesota to just 9 points in the first quarter.
SGA was unstoppable, pouring in 32 of his 34 points in the first half alone.
"It almost seemed like we did everything we were supposed to do," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "We made it tough on the guys we were supposed to make it tough on. Well, I thought it was tough for everybody [on the Timberwolves]."
"We were clicking on all cylinders as far as what their tendencies are, what our game plan is, how we want to impact the game, how we want to impact the ball. Then from there, we were able to just run and have fun and be ourselves. It really starts with defense for us."
The 26-year-old SGA has joined some elite company. He’s now one of just three players ever to record 30-plus points and 5-plus assists at least 10 times in a single postseason, alongside LeBron James (2015, 2017, 2018) and Michael Jordan (1989, 1990, 1992).
These kids are making history.
At an average age of just 25.6 years old, Oklahoma City is the second-youngest team ever to reach the Finals. Only the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers championship team was younger.
The Thunder now await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals, where Indiana leads New York 3-1. OKC should feel pretty confident either way – they went a perfect 4-0 against those teams in the regular season.
