OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 on Wednesday night to win the Western Conference finals series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.
Chet Holmgren had 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Jalen Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder.
A fanbase that had suffered through the loss of Kevin Durant through free agency in 2016 and a rebuild that took the team near the bottom of the league’s standings just four years ago let loose in the fourth quarter when the Thunder sat their starters with 5:14 remaining and a 108-74 lead.
Oklahoma City, the former Seattle Supersonics franchise which relocated prior to the 2008-09 season, will play the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks in the finals. Indiana leads the Eastern Conference finals series 3-1 with Game 5 to be played in New York City on Thursday. Oklahoma City will have homecourt advantage when the Finals begin on June 5 because of its league-best 68-14 regular-season record.
Julius Randle scored 24 points and Anthony Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves, who shot just 41.2% from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
Oklahoma City opened the game on an 11-3 run and extended the advantage throughout the first quarter. Cason Wallace drained a 3-pointer as the first quarter expired to put the Thunder up 26-9 at the end of the period.
Oklahoma City led 65-32 at halftime and 88-62 heading into the fourth quarter.
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