Game ID: 42400311
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 8:30 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 20 24 32 38 114MIN 23 25 18 22 88
MIN @ OKC ScoutingMIN @ OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
OKC availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 4/26 after 2, 7 min since (45% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/07 after 2, 13 min since (94% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT K. Williams missed 2 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Mitchell missed 2 since 5/09, out tonight
OKC availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT K. Williams missed 3 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Mitchell missed 3 since 5/09, returns tonight: 1 min (5% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/18 · 2 days' restOUT K. Williams missed 4 since 5/09, returns tonight: 8 min (52% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/07 after 2, 7 min since (49% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/20 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 8 min since (52% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 4 min since (30% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/22 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 9 min since (58% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 3 min since (24% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/24 · 1 day's restOUT Jay. Williams missed 2 since 5/20, returns tonight: 17 min (120% of 14)
BACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 6 min since (42% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 3 min since (24% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/26 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 8 min since (55% of 15)
BACK Jay. Williams back 5/24 after 2, 17 min since (120% of 14)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 7 min since (52% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/28 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 9 min since (61% of 15)
BACK Jay. Williams back 5/24 after 2, 9 min since (60% of 14)
MIN availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's restOUT Clark missed 5 since 4/22, returns tonight: 3 min (28% of 12)
OUT Dillingham missed 7 since 4/13, out tonight
NEW Edwards 37 to 42 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 5/10 · 1 day's restOUT Dillingham missed 8 since 4/13, out tonight
BACK Clark back 5/08 after 5, 3 min since (28% of 12)
MIN availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's restOUT Dillingham missed 9 since 4/13, out tonight
BACK Clark back 5/08 after 5, 3 min since (28% of 12)
MIN availability going into 5/14 · 1 day's restOUT Clark missed 2 since 5/10, out tonight
OUT Dillingham missed 10 since 4/13, out tonight
MIN availability going into 5/20 · 5 days' restOUT Clark missed 3 since 5/10, returns tonight: 6 min (52% of 12)
OUT Dillingham missed 11 since 4/13, returns tonight: 2 min (20% of 10)
NEW McDaniels 32 to 39 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 5/22 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/08 after 5, 5 min since (40% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 2 min since (20% of 10)
NEW Randle 33 to 38 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 5/24 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/20 after 3, 6 min since (52% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 2 min since (20% of 10)
NEW Randle 33 to 38 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 5/26 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/20 after 3, 8 min since (63% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 5 min since (48% of 10)
MIN availability going into 5/28 · 1 day's restBACK Clark back 5/20 after 3, 8 min since (63% of 12)
BACK Dillingham back 5/20 after 11, 5 min since (48% of 10)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 29 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Randle at 25 a game. That is 4 straight wins. 5 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 38 percent from three to OKC's 29 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it OKC 111, Minnesota 107, Minnesota keeping it close.
5/11 @ DEN 92-87 — OKC notes
OKC won 92-87. OKC shot 36% (31 of 87) to DEN's 31%, 10 of 41 from three, and got to the line 26 times to DEN's 36. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 25 (8 of 19, 0 of 5 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Wallace added 11, Wiggins 11. The hinge was Q4, 29-18: OKC came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 5, and the lead reached 15.
5/13 vs DEN 112-105 — OKC notes
OKC won 112-105. OKC shot 50% (41 of 82) to DEN's 41%, 12 of 29 from three, and went to the line 23 times to DEN's 13 — 18 points from the stripe to their 12. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (12 of 23, 1 of 3 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Jal. Williams added 18, Hartenstein 15. The hinge was Q4, 34-19: OKC came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 7. OKC trailed 54-56 at the half and won the second half 58-49. Holmgren was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
5/15 @ DEN 107-119 — OKC notes
OKC lost 107-119. OKC shot 47% (43 of 92) to DEN's 47%, 11 of 40 from three, and got to the line 16 times to DEN's 32. The glass went 40-52 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 32 (11 of 16, 2 of 4 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Holmgren added 19, Caruso 10. Q2 was theirs, 33-27, turning a 3-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 92-74 against them. They led by as many as 12. Dort's -18 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/18 vs DEN 125-93 — OKC notes
OKC won 125-93. OKC shot 49% (47 of 96) to DEN's 39%, 12 of 39 from three. OKC turned it over 9 times to DEN's 22. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 35 (12 of 19, 3 of 4 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Jal. Williams added 24, Holmgren 13. The hinge was Q2, 39-20: OKC came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 14, and the lead reached 43. Caruso was the night's best plus/minus at +40.
5/20 vs MIN 114-88 — OKC notes
OKC won 114-88. OKC shot 50% (41 of 82) to MIN's 35%, 11 of 21 from three. OKC turned it over 12 times to MIN's 17. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (10 of 27, 0 of 4 from three, 11 of 14 at the line); Jal. Williams added 19, Holmgren 15. The hinge was Q4, 38-22: a lead of 10 became 26. OKC trailed 44-48 at the half and won the second half 70-40. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
5/22 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 98, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 15 a game. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 105, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Randle at 27 and Edwards at 25 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 12 and the arc, Minnesota at 39 percent from three to OKC's 33. Call it OKC 112, Minnesota 106.
5/24 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Edwards at 28 and Randle at 24 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 18 times a game to OKC's 10 and the defense, OKC allowing 102 a night to Minnesota's 110. Call it OKC 112, Minnesota 108, Minnesota keeping it close.
5/26 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Randle at 24 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and OKC minus-6 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 10. Call it Minnesota 113, OKC 112, OKC keeping it close.
5/28 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 24 and Randle at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it OKC 116, Minnesota 111.
5/08 vs GSW 117-93 — MIN notes
MIN won 117-93. MIN shot 51% (44 of 87) to GSW's 45%, 16 of 37 from three. MIN turned it over 12 times to GSW's 17. Randle led with 24 (10 of 17, 1 of 4 from three); Edwards added 20, Alexander-Walker 20. The hinge was Q1, 29-15: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 25. Edwards was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
5/10 @ GSW 102-97 — MIN notes
MIN won 102-97. MIN shot 44% (36 of 82) to GSW's 43%, 13 of 34 from three. Edwards led with 36 (13 of 28, 5 of 14 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); Randle added 24, McDaniels 15. The hinge was Q4, 33-24: MIN came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 5. MIN trailed 40-42 at the half and won the second half 62-55. Randle was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
5/12 @ GSW 117-110 — MIN notes
MIN won 117-110. MIN shot 49% (39 of 79) to GSW's 44%, 16 of 34 from three, and got to the line 26 times to GSW's 33. Randle led with 31 (11 of 21, 4 of 8 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Edwards added 30, Alexander-Walker 13. The hinge was Q3, 39-17: MIN came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 20. MIN trailed 58-60 at the half and won the second half 59-50. Conley was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
5/14 vs GSW 121-110 — MIN notes
MIN won 121-110. MIN shot 63% (49 of 78) to GSW's 43%, 13 of 31 from three, and got to the line 15 times to GSW's 30. Randle led with 29 (13 of 18, 2 of 6 from three); Edwards added 22, Gobert 17. The hinge was Q2, 32-24: a lead of 7 became 15, and the lead reached 25. Gobert was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
5/20 @ OKC 88-114 — MIN notes
MIN lost 88-114. MIN shot 35% (29 of 83) to OKC's 50%, 15 of 51 from three. MIN turned it over 17 times to OKC's 12, and OKC turned those into 13 steals. Randle led with 28 (9 of 13, 5 of 6 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Edwards added 18. Q1 was theirs, 23-20, but the other 3 periods went 94-65 against them. Edwards's -23 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/22 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 98, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 15 a game. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 105, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Randle at 27 and Edwards at 25 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 12 and the arc, Minnesota at 39 percent from three to OKC's 33. Call it OKC 112, Minnesota 106.
5/24 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Edwards at 28 and Randle at 24 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 18 times a game to OKC's 10 and the defense, OKC allowing 102 a night to Minnesota's 110. Call it OKC 112, Minnesota 108, Minnesota keeping it close.
5/26 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Randle at 24 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and OKC minus-6 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 10. Call it Minnesota 113, OKC 112, OKC keeping it close.
5/28 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 24 and Randle at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-4 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it OKC 116, Minnesota 111.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MINAE A. Edwards
DD D. DiVincenzo
JC J. Clark
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. Minott
JR J. Randle
MC M. Conley
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RD R. Dillingham
RG R. Gobert
TS T. Shannon Jr.
OKCAC A. Caruso
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
DJ D. Jones
IH I. Hartenstein
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
MI Mitchell
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
MIN/OKC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder beat the rested Timberwolves 114-88 in Game 1 of West finals
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half, and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-88 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 8 of 14 field goals in the second half after a rough start.
“I didn’t particularly change my mindset, honestly,” he said, “I just tried to continue to be aggressive, trust my work.”
Julius Randle scored 28 points for sixth-seeded Minnesota, but just eight in the second half.
Anthony Edwards , who had been averaging 26.5 points per game in the playoffs, was held to 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
“I definitely got to shoot more. I took 13 (expletive) shots, but I’ll say probably just get off the ball a little more,” Edwards said. “Play without the ball. I think that would be the answer, because playing on the ball, they’re just going to double and sit in the gaps all day. So I’ve got to go watch some film and take it apart and figure it out.”
Edwards said the Thunder packed the paint, and he expects the Timberwolves to take advantage of that tactic going forward. Game 2 is Thursday in Oklahoma City.
“They bank on us not making shots, I guess, because every time I go to the rim it’s like four people," he said. “So yeah, I guess they just be clogging the paint. They put like five, four bodies in the paint, make you kick it out. So keep making the right play.”
Oklahoma City was just two days removed from eliminating Denver in Game 7 of the conference semifinals . Minnesota hadn’t played in a week.
Minnesota led 48-44 at halftime as Randle scored 20 points and made 5 of 6 3-pointers. Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 11 points on 2-of-13 shooting before the break.
“For us to play as poorly as we did offensively in the first half and be down four was a major victory for us at halftime," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
The Thunder went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter to take a 66-60 lead. A short time later, Kenrich Williams , a rarely-used sub this postseason, hit a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to put the Thunder up 71-62. Oklahoma City outscored Minnesota 32-18 in the third quarter to take a 76-66 advantage into the fourth.
A spinning dunk by Holmgren in traffic put Oklahoma City ahead 86-75 and drew a roar from the crowd. Gilgeous-Alexander threw up a prayer as he was being fouled while falling to the floor. The ball rolled in, and he made the free throw to make it 91-77 with seven minutes remaining.
“It’s Game 1," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “They won at home. Congrats to them. They played really well. There’s another game in two days.”