7 hours ago
3
NBA insiders
May 20, 2025, 11:24 PM ET
The 2025 NBA conference finals have tipped off, with four teams fighting for a spot in the Finals.
The No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, after a tough seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets, kicked off the Western Conference finals Tuesday night. They defeated Anthony Edwards and the visiting No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 31 points.
In the East, the No. 3 seed New York Knicks will take on the No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden with two superstars in Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson going head-to-head in a highly anticipated matchup. The Knicks and Pacers will look to make their first Finals appearance since 1999 and 2000, respectively.
As these elite teams face off, our NBA insiders break down their biggest takeaways from every matchup and what to watch for in both conference showdowns.
More coverage:
Schedules and results | Offseason guides
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder lead (6) Minnesota Timberwolves 1-0
Game 1: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 88
Biggest takeaways for the Thunder: Oklahoma City's defense bought the Thunder a half before their scorers settled into a rhythm. The Thunder trailed by only four points at halftime despite All-Star duo Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams combining to shoot only 4-of-21 from the floor. Then, that tandem seized control, outscoring the Timberwolves by themselves in the third quarter and combining to score 21 to allow Oklahoma City to take a double-digit lead. Chet Holmgren scored nine of his 15 points in a flurry early in the fourth quarter to keep Minnesota at a comfortable distance. The Thunder defense, the league's top-ranked unit, remained relentless throughout the game. Oklahoma City held Minnesota to 34.9% shooting from the floor and forced 19 turnovers that the Thunder converted into 31 points. -- Tim MacMahon
Biggest takeaways for the Timberwolves: If you told the Timberwolves that they would control the first half and have Gilgeous-Alexander miss nearly twice as many shots (17) as he made (10) before Tuesday, they would have liked their chances in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. There was one problem: For how effective their defense was, their offense was equally inept. If you take away Julius Randle's 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting, Minnesota mustered just 60 points on 20-for-70 shooting (28.6%).
After building a 48-44 lead through the first two quarters, it was hardly a game after halftime. The Wolves led 60-56 with 7:22 to go in the third, and the Thunder responded with a 17-2 run to open up a double-digit cushion heading into the fourth. Minnesota's bench support was particularly lacking, with Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker combining to shoot just 7-for-36 (5-for-28 from 3). Minnesota's 23-year-old superstar Anthony Edwards tweaked his left ankle in the first half and finished with 18 points on 5-for-13 shooting. The Wolves have much work to do for Game 2, or they'll be staring at a 0-2 deficit heading back home for Game 3. -- Dave McMenamin
1:26
Anthony Edwards far from best as Timberwolves lose Game 1
From a technical foul to aggravating an ankle injury, Anthony Edwards had a mixed performance in Game 1 vs. the Thunder.
Game 2: Timberwolves at Thunder (Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
What to watch: Whether Minnesota can find a way to score in the paint. The Timberwolves managed just 20 paint points, tying the fewest by any team during this year's playoffs. Minnesota was averaging 51.6 points per game in the paint and was coming off 72 while closing out the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 last Wednesday -- a playoff high for any team.
Remarkably, Oklahoma City pulled that off while downsizing. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault played his double-big frontcourt of starters Isaiah Hartenstein and Holmgren fewer than eight minutes together -- far less than the 14.2 they've averaged in the playoffs, per NBA Advanced Stats. And after using Williams (listed at 6-foot-8, 250) to defend Nikola Jokic in the conference semifinals, Daigneault went to the smaller Kenrich Williams (6-foot-7, 210) as a backup center.
What Oklahoma City lacked in size, the Thunder more than made up for with swarming defense and packing the paint. Oklahoma City dared the Timberwolves to make 3s, much like the Nuggets did them in the last round. After Minnesota shot 5-of-11 from downtown in the opening quarter, the Timberwolves went 10-for-40 (25%) the rest of the way.
Paradoxically, then, Minnesota's best hope of scoring inside might be hitting more shots from outside. The Timberwolves will surely do so. Minnesota has made 35% on 3s so far in the playoffs after ranking fourth in the league at 38% during the regular season. We'll see how accurate the Timberwolves need to be to pull the Thunder defense out of the paint. -- Kevin Pelton
