The Western Convention finals proceed with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder taking a commanding 2-0 collection lead over the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves for a spot within the NBA Finals.
The Thunder are aiming to succeed in the NBA Finals for the primary time since 2012. This postseason, OKC swept the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies earlier than needing seven video games to remove the No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets.
In the meantime, the Timberwolves are attempting to safe their first look within the NBA Finals in franchise historical past. The Wolves beforehand knocked off the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers earlier than dispatching the No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors.
Here is what stood out from the Thunder’s Recreation 2 win and what to anticipate from Recreation 3 with the collection now shifting to Minnesota.
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Recreation 2: Thunder 118, Timberwolves 103
What stood out for the Thunder: A day after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his first MVP Award, he led the Thunder to a commanding 2-0 collection lead with a game-high 38-point efficiency. The Thunder turned a 58-50 halftime lead right into a blowout, outscoring the Timberwolves within the third quarter, 35-21, to steer by as a lot as 24 factors. The Timberwolves lower their deficit to as few as 10 factors within the fourth quarter, however they could not full the comeback.
The Thunder have dominated this collection on each ends of the courtroom, utilizing a mix of suffocating protection and a well-oiled offense to be two video games shy of the championship spherical. Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams (26 factors and 10 rebounds) and Chet Holmgren (22 factors) seemingly didn’t have any hassle selecting their spots towards a Timberwolves workforce that sailed via the primary two rounds of the playoffs (successful their first two collection towards the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors in 5 video games), however that has merely appeared overmatched towards this workforce.
What stood out for the Timberwolves: After scoring simply 18 factors in Recreation 1 of this collection, Anthony Edwards vowed to shoot extra in Recreation 2. He achieved that, ending with 32 factors, 9 rebounds and 6 assists on Thursday. However Julius Randle, who has been big this postseason and made a significant dent in Recreation 1 with 28 factors, had solely six factors on 2-for-11 taking pictures in Recreation 2 and didn’t even play within the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves have been struggling to generate sufficient offense towards the Thunder’s top-rated protection.
What’s in retailer for Recreation 3: For the Timberwolves, they want extra consistency on offense. Edwards, whereas extra productive in Recreation 2, vastly struggled from past the arc, taking pictures 1-for-9 after going 3-for-8 from that distance in Recreation 1. He additionally wants extra assist. Randle wasn’t the one Timberwolves participant who vastly struggled in Recreation 2. Rudy Gobert was held to simply 5 factors on 2-for-5 taking pictures. And the Timberwolves haven’t seen explosive performances from Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid as they did within the first two collection of the postseason.
As for the Thunder, they do not want many notes. Coming into this postseason there have been questions whether or not they have been the true deal and will deal with the intense lights of the large stage or whether or not their youth and relative postseason inexperience would hinder them. They’re proving that these questions have been unfounded because the workforce with the very best document within the common season is crusing via the Western Convention Finals thus far.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand coated the league for Sports activities Illustrated, the Los Angeles Occasions, the Bay Space Information Group and the San Antonio Categorical-Information. Comply with her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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