OKC's D lives up to 'identity' in dominant Game 1

OKLAHOMA CITY -- After spending the erstwhile 7 games searching for solutions against the Denver Nuggets' assortment of portion defenses, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn't marque a creaseless modulation against the Minnesota Timberwolves' carnal man-to-man schemes successful the Western Conference finals opener.

But nary squad successful the NBA presents much antiaircraft problems than the top-seeded Thunder, a inclination that continued successful Tuesday's Game 1, allowing Oklahoma City to flooded a hideous violative archetypal half.

The Thunder, fueled by converting the Timberwolves' 19 turnovers into 31 points, pulled distant for a 114-88 win.

"We effort to play to our identity," said Oklahoma City superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 31 points contempt going 2 of 13 from the level successful the archetypal half. "We did a bully occupation of that connected defense. Our defence decidedly gave america beingness aboriginal successful the crippled and kept america successful it."

Oklahoma City trailed by lone 4 points astatine halftime contempt scoring lone 44 points, 18 of which were disconnected of turnovers.

"I conscionable thought it took america a 2nd to calibrate to the opponent, but our defence allowed america the borderline to bash that," Thunder manager Mark Daigneault said.

Oklahoma City's shotmaking tends to ebb and slow, peculiarly during the postseason, but the Thunder person consistently been the NBA's astir ascendant antiaircraft team. Oklahoma City had the league's top-rated defence during the regular play by a important borderline -- allowing 106.6 points per 100 possessions, 2.5 less than immoderate different squad -- and has cranked that up to different level successful the playoffs.

The Thunder person allowed lone 100.7 points per 100 possessions successful 12 playoff games. The Timberwolves person the second-stingiest defence this postseason, allowing 107.8 points per 100 possessions.

But Oklahoma City's defence doesn't conscionable get stops. It's 1 of the Thunder's champion ways to make offense, too.

The Thunder are averaging 25.3 points disconnected of turnovers during the playoffs, the astir by immoderate squad successful a postseason during the play-by-play epoch that began successful 1997, according to ESPN Research. Oklahoma City, which had 37 points disconnected of turnovers successful its Game 7 rout of the Nuggets, joined the 2017 Golden State Warriors arsenic the lone teams successful the past 25 years to person turnovers into astatine slightest 30 points successful consecutive playoff games.

"We conscionable got a phenomenal antiaircraft team," Thunder reserve Alex Caruso said. "It's a postulation of large idiosyncratic defenders that besides play large squad defense. And past erstwhile we get connected the break, young legs, each those dudes are moving [and] dunking."

Oklahoma City is forcing an NBA-high 18.3 turnovers per crippled successful the playoffs, an summation from the league-leading 17.0 it forced during the regular season.

"The turnovers are ne'er what we speech about," Daigneault said. "We speech crowding astir the ball. We speech astir being assertive successful our help, trusting our help, trusting our scheme, trusting our teammates. And that tends to output turnovers erstwhile you truly person that going. But it besides yields pugnacious shots, out-of-rhythm shots. So that's what we're trying to do. But the guys did a large occupation of drumming that up truly from the jump."

After shooting lone 37.5% from the level successful the archetypal half, Oklahoma City recovered its groove offensively. The Thunder scored 70 points connected 61.9% shooting successful the 2nd half.

Oklahoma City took bid successful the 3rd quarter, erstwhile Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams outscored the Timberwolves by themselves. The Thunder's All-Star duo combined to sprout lone 4-of-21 from the level successful the archetypal half, but Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams combined for 21 points connected 9-of-15 shooting successful the 3rd quarter, which ended with Oklahoma City starring by treble digits.

Aside from powerfulness guardant Julius Randle, who scored 20 of his 28 points successful the archetypal half, the Timberwolves ne'er established immoderate benignant of violative rhythm.

The Thunder held the Timberwolves to 34.9% shooting from the floor, including 15-of-51 (29.4%) from 3-point range. Minnesota scored lone 20 points successful the paint, the franchise's fewest successful a playoff crippled since Game 1 of the 2004 West finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"There's 2 sides to the hoops game," Thunder powerfulness forward/center Chet Holmgren said. "If you privation to play lone 1 side, you got to play truly bully and you don't privation to number connected that, particularly successful the playoffs. Especially against a bully squad and bully players similar they person connected the different side. You've truly got to effort to springiness yourself a accidental astatine some ends, and if things aren't going good connected 1 end, you've truly got to hunker down connected the other."