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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 34 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 on Wednesday night to win the NBA Western Conference finals series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.
Chet Holmgren had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Jalen Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder.
A fanbase that had suffered through the loss of Kevin Durant through free agency in 2016 and a rebuild that took the team near the bottom of the league's standings just four years ago let loose in the fourth quarter when the Thunder sat their starters with 5:14 remaining and a 108-74 lead.
"These guys are uncommon. They do everything right. They're professional, they're high-character," Coach Mike Daigneault said, as Thunder players put a towel then a conference championship hat on his head. "They're idiots!"
Gilgeous-Alexander joined the Thunder in 2019. In his second and third seasons with Oklahoma City, it finished second-to-last in the Western Conference.
"There were some really dark times in this arena, not-fun times, and these fans have been by our side through thick and thin, so we appreciate them first and foremost," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "This is a step in the right direction, but we have a lot more work to do and we know that, and that's what we're focused on."
Oklahoma City will play the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks in the finals. Indiana leads the Eastern Conference finals series 3-1 with Game 5 to be played in New York City on Thursday. Oklahoma City will have home-court advantage when the finals begin on June 5 because of its league-best 68-14 regular-season record.
Julius Randle scored 24 points and Anthony Edwards added 19 for Minnesota. Randle bounced back from a five-point showing in Game 4, but it wasn't nearly enough for the Timberwolves, who shot just 41.2% from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
"They came ready to play, we didn't," Edwards said. "When you lose a game like this there's not really much to break down. They did what they were supposed to do and won the game. ... They dominated the game from the tip, can't do nothing but tip my hat to those guys, they came ready, man, so good job by them."
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who led Minnesota with 23 points in Game 4, went 0 for 8 from the field and finished with no points.
Oklahoma City opened the game on an 11-3 run and extended the advantage throughout the first quarter. Cason Wallace drained a three-pointer as the first quarter expired to put the Thunder up 26-9 at the end of the period.
Oklahoma City led 65-32 at halftime and 88-62 heading into the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Joe (Fort Smith Northside/Arkansas Razorbacks) scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including 3 of 3 from three-point range, in six minutes for the Thunder, mostly with the game already out of reach. Jaylin Williams, also of Northside and the University of Arkansas, played 5 minutes and finished with 2 assists, 1 rebounds and 1 steal for Oklahoma City.
Mike Conley, who was born in Fayetteville, started for the Timberwolves and finished 0 of 3 from the field. He had 2 steals and 1 assist in 21 minutes.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) defends during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) defends during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2), right, works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) defends during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2), right, works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) defends during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works toward the basket as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) defends during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works toward the basket as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) defends during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)