OKLAHOMA CITY — Bumanat si NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ng 34 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds at 2 steals sa 124-94 pagsibak ng Thunder sa Minnesota Timberwolves sa Game 5 ng kanilang Western Conference championship series papasok sa NBA Finals.
Tinapos ng Oklahoma City sa 4-1 ang kanilang serye ng Minnesota para umabante sa unang NBA championship trip.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to our ultimate goal and this is not it. That’s all that I’m focused on,” ani Gilgeous-Alexander.
Lalabanan nila sa NBA Finals ang mananaig sa duwelo ng Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks.
Bitbit ng Pacers ang 3-1 lead kontra sa Knicks.
“These guys are uncommon,” ani Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “They do everything right. They are professional. They are high character… They are competitive and most of all they are team first.”
Nagdagdag si Chet Holmgren ng 22 points, 7 rebounds at 3 blocks, habang tumipa si Jalen Williams ng 19 points, 8 rebounds at 5 assists.
Pinamunuan ni Julius Randle ang Timberwolves sa kanyang 24 points habang may 19 markers si Anthony Edwards.
“This hurts. We were beat by the better team,” wika ni Minnesota coach Chris Finch. “Proud of our guys. It was a challenging season. We stuck with it. I like where we are.”
Kumamada si Gilgeous-Alexander ng 12 points sa first quarter para ibigay sa Oklahoma City ang 26-9 kalamangan bago isara ang first half hawak ang 65-32 abante.
Tuluyan nang tinambakan ng Thunder ang Timberwolves sa third quarter para selyuhan ang kanilang pagmartsa sa NBA Finals.