The Oklahoma City Thunder are on their way to the NBA Finals after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games to clinch the Western Conference.
The Thunder are now back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 and now await the winners of the Eastern Conference, with the Indiana Pacers holding a 3-1 advantage over the New York Knicks.
It was the second straight season that Minnesota reached the West finals, but once again came up short. The Timberwolves have still yet to reach the NBA Finals in franchise history.
Here's what stood out after the Thunder's Game 5 win and what's next as they gear up for the NBA Finals.
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Game 5: Thunder 124, Timberwolves 94
What went right for Oklahoma City?
Great teams have a way of making things cool. The Golden State Warriors made shooting from anywhere on the court cool because of Stephen Curry. The Denver Nuggets made a 7-footer who could play one-to-five offensively cool because of Nikola Jokic.
The Thunder are making defense cool.
Their swarming defense completely sucked the life out of the Timberwolves, who sailed through the first two rounds of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors in five games apiece, but resembled something more like a JV team against Oklahoma City.
That was never more clear than Game 5 when the Timberwolves, who were facing elimination, had more turnovers (14) than field goals (12) in the first half. The Thunder's defense suffocated the Timberwolves, who trailed by as much as 39 points and shot only 41.2 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc with their season on the line.
The Thunder, who have the youngest team in the playoffs, didn't blink against the red hot Timberwolves, holding them to just 88 points in Game 1 and 95 points in Game 5. Aside from Game 3, their only loss of the series, the Thunder's biggest takeaway was always their unbridled dominance on the less glamorous end of the court.
The Thunder's NBA-best defensive rating in the regular season (106.6) only became tighter and more lethal in the playoffs, where they've again led all teams with a 105.7 rating.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder impressed on both ends of the court. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
What went wrong for Minnesota?
Entering the Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves looked like a true two-way team. But against the Thunder, they struggled to get anything going offensively.
Anthony Edwards went from looking like he was knocking on the door to becoming the future face of the league (whether he wanted it or not), to realizing he has a few rungs of the ladder left to climb before truly becoming a superstar.
Julius Randle went from looking like an All-Star this postseason to struggling with inconsistency against the Thunder, including finishing with six points or fewer twice.
Rudy Gobert went from looking like Shaquille O'Neal in Game 5 of the Timberwolves' first-round series against the Lakers to looking like a six-footer against the Thunder, including finishing with two points and five rebounds with his team’s season hanging in the balance.
And guys like Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, who were shining in their roles the first two rounds, were a barely-flickering light against Oklahoma City.
It's now two straight seasons that Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves have fell short in the West. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The Thunder are in the Finals. They'll win if __:
What's crystal clear is the Thunder’s defense isn't going to let up. That's a complete team effort and everyone has complete buy-in.
But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has never been in this position before and he's proving he truly is the Most Valuable Player in the NBA. He has shone in these playoffs, including leading the Thunder in scoring in every game against the Timberwolves and scoring 30 or more points in four of those contests.
If Gilgeous-Alexander keeps dominating on the offensive end and Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren keep making significant contributions, and the Thunder keep overwhelming teams on the defensive end, it’s hard to imagine anyone can stop them from winning a title.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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