OKC is headed to the NBA championship with a blowout of timberwolves
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Nothing would stand in the way of the Thunder rolling over the Minnesota Timberwolves, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals.
The Thunder cruised to a 124-94 win Wednesday night to close out the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. They became the second-youngest team (average age of 25.6 years old) to advance to the Finals, trailing only the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976-77 championship team, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
OKC will face the winner of the New York Knicks vs Iniana Pacer. Pacers leads that series 3 games to 1.
"The focus through the distraction of a closeout game to go to the Finals is what was most impressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "I mean, they were laser focused today, and that allowed our best to come to the surface."
The first half, in particular, displayed the Thunder, who set an NBA record for point differential during a 68-win regular season, at their peak.
Oklahoma City jumped to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, when the Thunder held the Timberwolves to only nine points, Minnesota's fewest in any quarter this season and in the franchise's playoff history. The Thunder had a 65-32 halftime lead after the Timberwolves had more turnovers (14) than made field goals (12) against Oklahoma City's swarming, smothering defense that ranked No. 1 in the league this season.
The Thunder cruised to a 124-94 win Wednesday night to close out the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. They became the second-youngest team (average age of 25.6 years old) to advance to the Finals, trailing only the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976-77 championship team, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
OKC will face the winner of the New York Knicks vs Iniana Pacer. Pacers leads that series 3 games to 1.
"The focus through the distraction of a closeout game to go to the Finals is what was most impressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "I mean, they were laser focused today, and that allowed our best to come to the surface."
The first half, in particular, displayed the Thunder, who set an NBA record for point differential during a 68-win regular season, at their peak.
Oklahoma City jumped to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, when the Thunder held the Timberwolves to only nine points, Minnesota's fewest in any quarter this season and in the franchise's playoff history. The Thunder had a 65-32 halftime lead after the Timberwolves had more turnovers (14) than made field goals (12) against Oklahoma City's swarming, smothering defense that ranked No. 1 in the league this season.