Melissa Rohlin
Fox Sports NBA writer
The western conference ends see seed number 1 Oklahoma City Thunder And no. 6 seeds Minnesota Timberwolves He faces a place in the NBA finals.
The Thunder are aim Memphis Grizzlies Before needing seven games to remove seed number 4 Denver nuggets.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are trying to ensure their first appearance in the NBA finals in the history of the franchise. The wolves have already eliminated the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers in seven games before sending seed No. 7 Golden State warriors.
This is what has stood out of the victory of game 1 of Thunder and what to expect from game 2.
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Game 1: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 88
What stood out for thunder: This was a history of two halves for the Thunder, which followed up to nine points in the first half before overcoming the Timberwolves in the second half, 70-40, to lead up to 26 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is a favorite for the MVP award, said in his interview without ESPN that the team came out a bit “oxidized.” He finished with a maximum of 31 points after an unstable start in which he had 11 points in 2 of 13 shots in the first half.
The Thunder shot 61.9 percent from the field in the second half, including 61.5 percent from beyond the 3 -point line. Meanwhile, the stunned Timberwolves made only 35 percent of their shots in the last 24 minutes, including an unfortunate 21.7 percent from beyond the arch.
What stood out for the Timberwolves: Timberwolves need to find a way to limit their ball losses against Thunder, which had the best qualified defense in the regular season. The Timberwolves ended with 19 ball losses, in which the Thunder turned 30 points.
The Timberwolves were also overcome in the painting, 54-20. Julius Randle had 28 points in 9 of 13 shots, but did not receive much offensive help. The star of the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards, who seemed to turn the ankle in the second quarter, only had 18 points in 5 of 13 shots, including scored in the last quarter.
Related: How Anthony Edwards relies on his connection with Tom Crean
What is in the store for game 2? For the Timberwolves, they need things to work on the offensive side, including obtaining more help from their bank. His reservations fired an unfortunate 9 of 41 from the field. Edwards needs to play as a superstar so that this team has a chance. And as a team, they formed too 3 and need to be much more aggressive attacking painting.
For Thunder, this was a great victory on his local court, in which they survived a slow beginning, they maintained their trust and roared to turn the game into a defeat. In the future, they must assemble this type of effort for 48 full minutes, instead of waiting until the second half explodes, because here it is to bet the Timberwolves offensive will look much better in game 2.
Melissa Rohlin is a NBA Fox Sports writer. She previously covered the Sports Illustrated League, Loss Angeles Times, the news group from the Bay area and San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @Melissarohlin.
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