OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) 鈥� Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Hamilton, Ont., 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 NBA's Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP finalist, had nine assists. He made eight of 14 field goals after halftime.
Julius Randle scored 28 points for 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.
Oklahoma City was just two days removed from . Minnesota hadn鈥檛 played since May 14.
Game 2 is Thursday in Oklahoma City.
Minnesota led 48-44 at halftime as Randle scored 20 points and made five of six 3-pointers. Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 11 points on 2-of-13 shooting before the break.
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 post-season, hit a mid-range 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.
RIM SHOTS: Luguentz Dort of Montreal had five points and one rebound for the Thunder. 鈥� Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Toronto had eight points and two rebounds for the Timberwolves.
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AP NBA:
Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
