Timberwolves takeaways: Season ends with lopsided loss to Thunder in Western Conference finals

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on May 28, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

OKLAHOMA CITY – When the Timberwolves are ready for their season to be over, they certainly don’t hide it.

Last season in the NBA Western Conference finals they trailed by as much as 36 before they lost to the Dallas Mavericks at home in Game 5.

This season, it got worse. The Oklahoma City Thunder led by 37 points going into the third quarter, and rolled to a 124-94 victory in Game 5 Wednesday night, winning the Western Conference finals series 4-1.

The Wolves were never in it at Paycom Center, as the Thunder rolled over them one last time on their home floor. The Wolves didn’t look like they had any interest in being on the floor after losing a close one in Game 4 that would have evened the series.

Instead, this series was defined by their fragility on the road, how the Thunder wore them down with their top-rated defense and made them look out of sorts.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the series MVP and poured in 34 points Wednesday. Chet Holmgren added 22 and Jalen Williams 19 before the Thunder cleared their bench early in the fourth quarter.

Julius Randle had 24 and Anthony Edwards 19 for the Wolves, who shot 41.2% from the floor to OKC’s 52.3%. Randle had eight points and four turnovers, though, in a first half as things unraveled quickly.

Oklahoma City advances to the NBA Finals while the Wolves head home with a number of questions looming in the offseason for potential free agents Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

The Wolves scored just nine points in the first quarter, a low for the season and committed 21 turnovers. Vacation awaits, and the Wolves looked like they couldn’t wait to get started.

Turning point

The opening minutes. The Wolves went 1 for 11 to open the game and the evening got out of control from there. They lost all confidence on offense and that affected their execution at the other end of the floor. Jaden McDaniels began the game 0 for 6.

They again turned the ball over at a high rate. They finished the disastrous first quarter with just nine points, their lowest point total of any quarter on the season. They looked emotionally and physically spent after losing in Game 4.

How the rest happened

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch talked about the need for the Wolves to avoid the “five-minute meltdown” against the Thunder. The first quarter played out like one long meltdown. The only Wolves player to hit a shot outside of Edwards was Randle. The rest of the team was 0 for 12. Gilgeous-Alexander had 12 points for the Thunder as the Wolves switched to a zone defense later in the quarter to slow him down. But they just couldn’t score. They turned it over four times.

The second quarter was more of a disaster than the first. The Thunder extended their lead past 20. With 9:04 left in the second, Oklahoma City was up 36-14, Randle had four turnovers and Reid had three. The Wolves just appeared apathetic on either end of the floor and helpless to combat the buzzsaw that was the Thunder defense.

On defense, the Thunder didn’t have much trouble getting the shots they wanted. Holmgren added 15 in addition to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 20. The Wolves seemed content to count down the minutes until their season was over. They had more turnovers at the half (14) than made field goals (12).

MVP(s)

Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP honors, but hat tip to Jalen Williams, who answered a lot of questions about his postseason readiness. He had a strong series overall, especially in Game 4, when he scored 34 in a game that essentially won the Thunder the series.

Up next

A busy offseason. Will Randle, Reid (both of whom have player options) and Alexander-Walker (unrestricted free agent) be back? Will they trade for Kevin Durant, after having interest in him at the deadline? They also have the No. 17 and No. 31 picks in the NBA draft. There will be a lot of action over the next month-plus.

____