NBA West finals: Thunder use big 2nd half in Game 1 win over Timberwolves

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Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Writer

The Western Conference finals is set with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder and the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves squaring off for a spot in the NBA Finals.

The Thunder are aiming to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. This postseason, OKC swept the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies before needing seven games to eliminate the No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are trying to secure their first appearance in the NBA Finals in franchise history. The Wolves already knocked off the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers in seven games before dispatching the No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors.

Here’s what has stood out from the Thunder’s Game 1 win and what to expect from Game 2.

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Game 1: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 88

What stood out for the Thunder: This was a tale of two halves for the Thunder, who trailed by as much as nine points in the first half before outscoring the Timberwolves in the second half, 70-40, to lead by as much as 26 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is a frontrunner for the MVP award, said in his walk-off interview with ESPN that the team came out a bit “rusty.” He finished with a game-high 31 points after a shaky start in which he had 11 points on 2-for-13 shooting in the first half.

The Thunder shot a blazing 61.9 percent from the field in the second half, including 61.5 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Meanwhile, the stunned Timberwolves made just 35 percent of their shots in the final 24 minutes, including a woeful 21.7 percent from beyond the arc.

What stood out for the Timberwolves: The Timberwolves need to figure out a way to limit their turnovers against the Thunder, which had the top-rated defense in the regular season. The Timberwolves finished with 19 turnovers, on which the Thunder converted 30 points.

The Timberwolves were also outscored in the paint, 54-20. Julius Randle had 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting, but he didn’t get much offensive help. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who appeared to turn his ankle in the second quarter, had just 18 points on 5-for-13 shooting, including going scoreless in the fourth quarter.

What’s in store for Game 2: For The Timberwolves, they need to get things going on the offensive end, including getting more help from their bench. Their reserves shot a woeful 9-for-41 from the field. Edwards needs to play like a superstar for this team to have a chance. And as a team, they settled for too many 3s and need to be much more aggressive attacking the paint.

For the Thunder, this was a great win on their home court, in which they survived a slow start, kept their confidence and roared back to turn the game into a rout. Going forward, they need to put together this kind of effort for a full 48 minutes – instead of waiting until the second half to explode – because here’s to betting the Timberwolves’ offense is going to look much better in Game 2.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.