Breaking Down The Thunder’s Dominant Second Half In Game 1 Of The Western Conference Finals

The first half of Tuesday’s Game 1 could not have gone much worse offensively for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Through 24 minutes, they logged just 44 points, mustered an offensive rating of 88.0 and their superstar scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, had 11 points on 2-of-13 shooting — engulfed, perplexed and struggling against Jaden McDaniel’s spindly limbs.

But by night’s end, they coasted to a 114-88 win and staked a 1-0 series lead in this best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points to spearhead Oklahoma City’s 117.5 offensive rating. He scored 20 (8-of-14 shooting) of his 31 after intermission, a span over which the Thunder tallied 70 total points, posted a 148.9 offensive rating and flipped a 48-44 deficit into a frenzied domination.

So, what changed for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder? How did they wiggle out of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ sprawling defense and spoil what had the makings of a grind-it-out rock fight through 2.5 quarters?

Answering that requires a rewind to the first half, which captured both Oklahoma City’s woes and a path away from them.

*I should note McDaniels picked up four second-half fouls, which limited him to 10 second-half minutes and caused him to foul out with 5.5 minutes remaining. That undeniably simplified life for Gilgeous-Alexander, even if it was not the lone factor in his bounce-back.*

A First-Half Hint

Late in the first quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander dribbled atop the key and surveyed his options. McDaniels teetered toward him, with Anthony Edwards looming as a help defender. Cason Wallace rammed into McDaniels and forced Naz Reid onto the point of attack. McDaniels, with arms out wide, lurked nearby, dissuading any potential drive. So, Gilgeous-Alexander wove the ball between his legs and hoisted up an errant stepback three.

“You see that wall for the Minnesota Timberwolves,” said Richard Jefferson, one of ESPN’s color commentators on the call. “It is boxes and elbows around Shai.”

Jefferson’s analysis is spot-on. Much like the Denver Nuggets in round two, Minnesota elected to plug up Gilgeous-Alexander’s driving lanes with staunch help in the gaps and trust its point-of-attack defenders to siphon his initial airspace. It worked for a while. During the first half, Gilgeous-Alexander forced hurried drives against McDaniels before help arrived or settled for arduous contested jumpers, bogged down by McDaniels’ length and a lack of space to maneuver around him. Rarely did he revel in open real estate.

But shortly after that missed triple, a blueprint for smoother offense presented itself. As Gilgeous-Alexander trotted over the mid-court line, Chet Holmgren slipped his screen and rolled to the rim against Minnesota’s small-ball lineup. Gilgeous-Alexander fed Holmgren, who was fouled inside.

Although Holmgren missed both free throws, this possession laid the foundation for a prosperous second half. Look where the surrounding three players are stationed and who they are. None of them sit above the break. Oklahoma City is rolling out a single-big lineup with four perimeter options around Holmgren. The midrange is largely vacant. Nobody aside from Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren’s defenders are well-positioned to run interference while the Timberwolves’ undersized, Rudy Gobert-less unit isn’t prepared to contain Holmgren near the hoop.

All of these aspects proved relevant during the Thunder’s second-half smackdown.

Small-Ball Vs. Smaller-Ball

Most prominently among them was Oklahoma City’s decision to drift away from Isaiah Hartenstein. He played fewer than six minutes following the break, all of which came during his opening stint. Once he exited with 6:12 left in the third quarter, he never returned. The Thunder went from trailing 60-58 to a 114-88 victory. They were plus-28 and scored 56 points in 18 second-half minutes without the German big man. In his place, they elected for Holmgren or shunned a traditional center altogether, leaning on Kenrich Williams and Jalen Williams to man the middle.

Doing so carved out more space offensively and baited Minnesota into downsizing as well. Gobert didn’t play a single minute in the fourth quarter. The Reid-Julius Randle minutes were pulverized defensively and failed to capitalize on their perceived offensive windfalls. With Gobert on the floor in Game 1, the Timberwolves conceded 100.0 points per 100 possessions. Without him, that mark spiked to 127.8. They were outscored by two points during his 21 minutes and lost their 27 Gobert-less minutes by 24.

Specifically, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder encountered substantial success by instructing the ing cast to flatten out along the baseline. Only Gilgeous-Alexander (or Williams) and the screener(s) rose above the wing. Even if one wing was inhabited, Gilgeous-Alexander consistently had at least one empty side to drive and find his spots without direct help bothering him. Despite Gobert’s general defensive exploits, Oklahoma City still generated 127.3 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor in the second half (161.5 without him).

That effectiveness largely stemmed from calculated, atypical floor balance. Holmgren was the most common screening partner but plenty other teammates tangoed with the MVP (and Williams occasionally!) as well. Minnesota struggled all second half to bottle up straightforward actions like these:

Eventually, the Timberwolves succumbed to the weight of Gilgeous-Alexander’s dominion and threw double-teams at him. Oklahoma City promptly punished those with ease.

A Jalen Williams Revival

Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t alone in his tide-turning second half either. Williams bounced back from a dismal six-point, 2-of-8 first half to score 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the final 24 minutes, and the Thunder jolted him free with a different approach than they used for their head of the table.

Early in the second half, Williams initiated a handful of possessions as Gilgeous-Alexander looked onward. The 2024-25 scoring champion was a decoy of sorts, given Minnesota’s hesitancy to help off of him would create cleaner driving lanes for Williams. Williams’ leaky handle leaves him susceptible to letting help short circuit his drives, so Oklahoma City aimed to neutralize that help and ignite its scuffling All-Star.

On another instance, Isaiah Joe, a 40 percent career outside marksman, resided one away. The 37-year-old, 6-foot Mike Conley Jr. refused to play the gap — likely because of Joe’s shooting credentials and his inability to execute a timely stunt-and-recover — and Williams galloped to his spot for the cozy pull-up jumper.

Regardless of who else was on the floor, the Thunder made a habit of punishing Randle defensively. Whether it was attacking him in space with ball-handlers, exploiting his mercurial off-ball awareness or leveraging Holmgren’s size advantage inside, Oklahoma City routinely burned the three-time All-Star.

By no means was Randle solely to blame for Minnesota’s defensive capitulation. Many of the breakdowns involving him are less about his specific issues and more about the general constraints the Timberwolves’ small-ball groups will face this series. Gobert is the team’s lone rim protector, but his offense foibles make the idea of a five-out alignment appealing.

It can work, but Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch must be fluid in how he balances small ball vs. Gobert’s minutes. Game 1’s decisions backfired, largely because of how ruthlessly precise Oklahoma City’s offense was against the Randle-Reid frontcourt.

After shooting 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) on two-pointers in the first half, the Thunder were 18-of-29 (62.1 percent) in the second half. Holmgren led the charge, scoring 13 (5-of-6 shooting) of his 15 points, with 10 of those coming squarely at the basket and often over Randle. Minnesota’s small-ball quintet was not equipped to both slow Gilgeous-Alexander and shut off Holmgren as a play-finisher, particularly while McDaniels was saddled with foul trouble.

The shape of a playoff series continually evolves. The route Oklahoma City took in Game 1 may not work again. Minnesota’s pitfalls may evaporate while Oklahoma City’s weaknesses could crystallize. How this series began will likely not define its conclusion.

But for now, the Thunder have landed the fiercest of jabs between these clubs. Their in-game adjustments panned out and blazed the trail for a convincing win. They ensured Gilgeous-Alexander hit his stride, helped Williams stamp his imprint and pushed Oklahoma City a step closer to the NBA Finals.