OKLAHOMA CITY — Forty minutes of hell was supposed to be a college basketball mantra, and long gone — but the Oklahoma City Thunder have remixed it.
Sometimes it’s five minutes, maybe 10. Just a stretch in which they turn the opponents into stumbling, bumbling, inept strangers. They can barely get a shot up, let alone an entry pass.
Advertisement
And with the franchise smelling opportunity, a chance at clinching a berth in the NBA Finals, dribbling became an obstacle course. And that five- or 10-minute stretch lasted for an entire half.
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the dismantling of the Western Conference with a definitive Game 5 whipping of the Minnesota Timberwolves, a 124-94 win at Paycom Center on Wednesday night.
The NBA Finals begin next Thursday in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder will take on the winner of the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers series.
If it’s the Pacers, it’ll be a beautiful contrast in styles, as Indiana’s fast pace has worn down every team in its path. If it’s the Knicks, they’ll come in battered and bruised because it means they’ve performed a miracle in coming back from a 3-1 deficit.
Thunder players and coaches celebrate after Game 5 of their Western Conference finals victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Either way, the Thunder are massive favorites to win the first championship in OKC history, even if it came sooner than most expected.
Advertisement
But they showed a seriousness, a business-like approach to these playoffs, the lone slip-up in the West finals being Game 3 in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves had issues all night in Game 5, as they had in the first two games of this series, which were also blowouts.
League Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added another MVP to his trophy case with the Magic Johnson Trophy for Western Conference finals MVP with 34 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds.
He scored or assisted on the game’s first 13 points as the outcome was never in doubt beyond the first few minutes.
“I didn’t want to go back to Minnesota, travel-wise. And then I wanted the fans to be able to enjoy the moment with us,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s averaged 31.4 points, 8.2 assists and 1.8 steals in the playoffs. “To see it from their eyes, celebrate tonight in our building. Go home, get drunk or whatever.”
Advertisement
There was always a tone of “in two years they’re gonna be hell to deal with” — kicking the can down the road because OKC’s players were so young and inexperienced, and Thunder executive vice president Sam Presti has a treasure trove of future draft picks at his disposal to fortify the roster.
Perhaps the plan would’ve been to use those picks and package players for superstars if ownership didn’t have the stomach to go into the luxury tax — which, to be fair, there have been no indications that’s the case.
The Thunder’s offseason additions weren’t massive, but adding Alex Caruso in a Josh Giddey swap and signing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency tied up the loose ends for a team that was more than ready to compete. The Thunder were ready to dominate.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said Caruso functions almost like Draymond Green did in the early days of the Warriors dynasty, being able to hound and defend bigger players. Caruso was stuck to Julius Randle early and disrupted the entire Timberwolves offense, helping lead to 21 turnovers.
“It’s felt like they’ve been here forever,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of the new additions. “They’re not deferential, but they’re respectful of the team, and they understood that this team had success prior to them being here, and they just, they hopped on a moving train and did so seamlessly.”
Advertisement
And so, that train is only gaining momentum. Even the straight-laced Presti couldn’t help but crack a smile as Jalen Williams summoned for more noise from the Paycom Center crowd as the Thunder regulars were removed with five minutes left and holding a 34-point lead.
It marks their fourth 30-point win in these playoffs, a record. It’s added to their 68-win season and record amount of double-digit wins, but they weren’t really sure they were as good as they looked until the games got real.
“The playoffs,” said Williams, who scored 19 with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. “Our last series against Denver, put up against adversity you don’t have in the regular season. I think that’s where we kind of grew up as a team. A lot of us, that was our first Game 7, getting over the hump of the second round. I think that was big for us.”
That was a seven-game slugfest that could turn out to be the Thunder’s biggest hurdle by the end of June. That Game 7 was never in doubt either, and it was likely their graduation moment.
Advertisement
“More experience, more games under our belt,” Williams said. “Just looking back at the last year, just a lot of us have never been in that situation, except for maybe, like two of us. So just have more experience.
“Most importantly, been able to grow through the experiences and not get stagnant. And I think that’s why we’re getting a lot of the great results that we are right now.”
For Minnesota, it is its second straight trip to the West finals and second straight five-game loss, both in similar fashion. It’s something Edwards will have to wear going into the summer, and unlike last year, when he claimed he easily let go of his team’s five-game loss to Dallas, this won’t be so easy.
It’s the second straight year the decisive game was essentially over in the first few minutes, as the Wolves had more turnovers at the half (14) than buckets (12). Last season, Luka Dončić took their hearts on their home floor in Game 5 to clinch a trip to the Finals.
Advertisement
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was confident his team would show up, that they weren’t discouraged at the deficit, that there was no panic.
He didn’t know it at the time, but it was resignation.
There comes a point in every hotly contested playoff series when both teams know, even subconsciously, who the better team is — and the series begins taking shape.
That came in Game 4, when the Timberwolves threw everything they had at their opponent. They beat the Thunder in every metric except for the scoreboard, and when you deliver your best shot on your home floor only to come up short, it becomes a fait accompli.
Advertisement
“They came to play, we didn’t,” Edwards said. “When you lose a game like this, it’s not really too much to break down. They just did what they were supposed to do.”
Nine years ago to the day, the Thunder had a chance to clinch a trip to the Finals against Stephen Curry and the Warriors in a Game 6.
Then Klay Thompson happened, and OKC underwent changes — some forced, some by choice — that took it on this winding road, leading back to the same place.
And even though that Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook team had more experience under its belt, this one feels better and more complete, even if Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t feel there’s any comparison between the two, that it’s just coincidental.
But this team didn’t mess around and give its opponent any hope, and now it’s four wins to go and more hell to unleash.
