It was looking close for a moment, but the Oklahoma City Thunder walked away with a strong win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, securing a 114-88 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The team won due to several factors, but their defense should get special praise because it was the main reason they were able to rally in the second half and open a large lead.
Following the win, Alex Caruso talked to ESPN and praised his team’s defensive efforts.
“We just got a phenomenal defensive team,” Caruso said. “It’s a collection of great individual defenders that also play great team defense. And then once we get on the break, young legs, all those dudes are running [and] dunking.”
Caruso knows a thing or two about the Thunder’s defense because he’s a huge part of it.
He has been one of the most dogged defenders since entering the league, and he consistently brings his special brand of grit and fight to the Thunder night after night.
But he isn’t the only one – OKC is loaded with young stars who are adamant about clamping down on their opponents.
Part of what makes the Thunder so spectacular is their ability to convert turnovers into points.
According to ESPN, they are averaging 25.3 points off turnovers during the playoffs, which is the most by any team in a postseason during the play-by-play era.
Caruso touched upon that, noting that his team is young and fast, so when they are able to steal the ball away, they do something productive with it.
The Thunder have had the top-rated defense all season, and it was definitely strong on Tuesday night.
That’s saying something because the Timberwolves’ defense is no joke either, but it just wasn’t enough in Game 1.
NEXT: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reveals What Kept Thunder In Game 1