Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder’s fightback from a “rusty” start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and win the first game of their NBA Western Conference finals series.
With Julius Randle pouring in 20 first-half points, Minnesota were on course for an upset against the top seeds after taking a 48-44 lead into half-time.
But the Thunder rallied in the final two quarters, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 20 of his 31 points to help his side to a 114-88 victory.
“Honestly we were a bit rusty in the first half but we shouldn’t be,” Gilgeous-Alexander told ESPN in an on-court interview.
“We were missing layups, free throws. We just needed to keep being aggressive and trust our work.”
MVP candidate Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 30 or more points for a fourth consecutive game, also finished with five rebounds and a game-high nine assists.
“Game ones are feel-out games. In game two they’re going to make adjustments and we’re going to have adjustments. It’s a series and it’s best-of-seven, not first to one,” Gilgeous-Alexander added.
“It’s a good start but there’s a lot more work to do.”
Game two of the series takes place in Oklahoma City on Friday (01:30 BST).
