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United States.- MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander tied his career-high in the playoffs this Thursday, with 38 points, and led the 118-103 victory of the Oklahoma City Thunder at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves to give his team a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals and put pressure on their rivals.
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SGA's night at the Paycom Center began with the presentation of the MVP award to the best player of the regular season and the Canadian extended the celebration on the court with twelve of 21 in field goals, one of two in three-pointers and thirteen of fifteen from the free throw line to which he added three rebounds and eight assists.
The Thunder, the best NBA franchise with 68 regular season wins, improved to 7-1 their home record in these playoffs and put the pressure on the Wolves, who now return to Minnesota obliged to defend their court at least in one of the two games if they want to stay alive in the series.
OKC stepped on the gas again in the second half, specifically in a third quarter in which they recorded partials of 12-1 and 10-0 that left Minnesota with no options.
Jalen Williams aported 26 points, ten rebounds and five assists, and Chet Holmgren aported 24 points for a Thunder that contained the pride reaction of Anthony Edwards and are two victories away from their first Finals since 2012.
Edwards scored 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Wolves, going twelve of 26 from the field, but his Wolves only held on for one half against a more mature Thunder team.
Jaden McDaniels scored 22 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker provided a valuable contribution with 17 points off the bench for Minnesota, which saw Julius Randle, one of its most in-form players, held to six points, shooting two of eleven from the field.
Paycom Center fans didn't stop chanting 'MVP' for Gilgeous Alexander, who spent several minutes signing autographs before the game and, after receiving the MVP award at center court, gave a lesson in effectiveness.
He already had 19 points at halftime with six of nine in field goals. He drove the Wolves' defense to despair, who couldn't find solutions to contain the Canadian star. SGA set the pace for his teammates with four assists and was impeccable from the free throw line, with a perfect six of six.
In the Wolves, Edwards was much more aggressive compared to the first game, but he did so without much success. In just two quarters he took more shots than on Tuesday night, but he didn't go beyond 7 of 18 for 16 points.
At the level of intensity, Minnesota tutored the Thunder and the eight-point difference in favor of the home team at the halfway point of the match was marked by a final 13-5 run.
It was in the third quarter when OKC took the game. SGA scored eleven points, with four of six in shots, and the Thunder sealed a 12-1 run to pull away 82-65 and, subsequently, a 10-0 run that shot the lead up to 93-69.
The Wolves, in which Randle did not play in the fourth quarter, had no strength to come back, despite managing to cut the distance to ten units with three minutes on the clock.
The first two chapters of the series showed a clear superiority of OKC, with the Wolves clinging to their home crowd to give themselves a chance.
