Thunder Take Commanding 2-0 Series Lead on SGA Day

Prior to the start of game two of the Western Conference Finals, the Mayor of Oklahoma City, David Holt, announced he had signed a proclamation declaring May 22nd of 2025 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Day.

Shortly after tip-off, SGA capped off his special day with a 38-point outing to lead Oklahoma City to a 2-0 series lead, and one step closer to the NBA Finals.

The newly minted league MVP also set a Thunder franchise record for consecutive 30-point games with five, surpassing Thunder great Kevin Durants previous mark.

Collective Effort for the Thunder With SGA leading the way for Oklahoma City in the scoring department, other Thunder players also chipped in on offense to take some pressure off the MVP.

Guard Jalen Williams continued his hot shooting on offense, scoring 26 points on an efficient 12-20 shooting from the field.

Meanwhile, Forward Chet Holmgren had his best game of the playoffs for the Thunder, scoring 22 points and hitting key shots at the end of the game to help push the Thunder over the finish line.

Edwards Shines and Randle Falters It was also a record-breaking night for the Minnesota Timberwolves as well, as Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards passed the legendary Kevin Garnett for the most career playoff points in franchise history.

Despite the loss, Edwards led the way in scoring with 32 points, a far better outing compared to his 18-point performance in game one.

While Edwards was seeing an uptick in production, Forward Julius Randle had the worst game of the playoffs in game two.

The three-time All-Star finished the night with only 6 points on 2-11 shooting from the field, a far cry from his efficient 28-point showing in game one.

Thunder Erupt in the Third Quarter After entering half-time clinging to a slim 8-point lead, the Thunders swarming third quarter defense arrived right on cue yet again to push the game out of reach.

Oklahoma City was able to force seven turnovers in the third period on Minnesota, which led to 10 easy points for the Thunder .

The turnover problems for the Timberwolves led to the Thunder increasing their 8-point lead up to 24 points midway through the third.

The Thunder also dominated the paint for the second straight game, outscoring the Wolves 58-44 and getting whatever look they wanted on the offensive end.

How do the Timberwolves Respond? Its hard to find any bright spots for the Timberwolves through the first two games.

Although tonights effort and gameplan showed that the Wolves can still jump back into the series, but the margins are fairly slim at this point.

If Minnesota wants any chance of winning this series, they must figure out a way to break the Thunders swarming defense, especially in the third quarter.

While the safe confines of the Target Center arena in downtown Minneapolis will certainly help for games 3 and 4, the Wolves still face an uphill battle from this point on.

Final Thoughts Oklahoma City has continued to show why they are widely considered the championship favorites and have strong chance at cutting this series short in Minnesota for games 3 and 4.

While Oklahoma City has been a dominant team at home all season, they have left much to be desired on the road so far this postseason.

It is officially do or die time for the Timberwolves, so expect a close and perhaps chippy Game 3 as Minnesota looks to keep their championship hopes alive and well.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Sports and was syndicated with permission..

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