Oklahoma City Thunder closed out the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 and advanced to their first NBA Finals since 2012.
Even before the basket went in, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spread his arms wide in celebration.
Cason Wallace left his right arm high in the air, waiting for the ball to drop through the basket.
Soon enough, inevitably, it did.
Wallace’s corner 3-pointer at the buzzer was the exclamation point on a dominant first quarter for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who rode the hot start to a 124-94 home win that ended the Western Conference finals in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Thunder closed out the best-of-seven series.
“I didn’t want to go back to Minnesota travel-wise and I wanted the fans to enjoy the moment with us,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
The Thunder are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 and the fifth time in franchise history. The first three appearances came when the club was based in Seattle.
Oklahoma City will host Game 1 of the finals against either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks on June 5.
“Happy for this moment, but this isn’t our goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “This isn’t the end of our road.”
Wednesday’s outcome was evident early, as the Thunder buried the Timberwolves under the weight of a stifling defence and playmaking by Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
Oklahoma City put the game away quickly, leading by 17 after the first quarter and 33 at halftime.
The Timberwolves saw their season end in the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive year.
“I’m going to work my butt off this summer,” Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said. “Nobody’s going to work harder than me this summer, I’ll tell you that much.”
Gilgeous-Alexander dished out five of his assists in the opening quarter as he again showed why he was selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
After the Timberwolves scored the game’s first hoop, Gilgeous-Alexander had a hand in all five Oklahoma City baskets during an 11-0 run that started the Thunder’s march towards the blowout.
In that stretch, Gilgeous-Alexander had four assists – three on Holmgren buckets – and drained a finger roll to start the separation.
On Monday, the Timberwolves started Game 4 red hot from the field but ultimately fell 128-126.
On Wednesday, Minnesota struggled on offence from the start, going just 1-for-11 from the field over the first five minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander outscored Minnesota in the first quarter 12-9 and scored or assisted on 24 of the Thunder’s 26 first-quarter points.
Minnesota had more turnovers in the first half (14) than it did field goals (12). The Timberwolves finished with 21 turnovers.
Holmgren amassed 22 points and seven rebounds while Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“These guys really make me feel like I’m a kid playing AAU basketball, like I’m 15 years old again,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s just fun. That’s what makes us really good. We have so much fun being out there together.”
Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with 24 points while Edwards scored 19 on 7-of-18 shooting.
“They dominated the game from the tip,” Edwards said. “Can’t do nothing but tip my hat to those guys. They came ready.”
