The Oklahoma City Thunder defended home court in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night, taking a 114–88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to move one step closer to the NBA Finals.
While the final score shows a blowout, it was far from a cakewalk for the Thunder, who trailed the Wolves for most of the game before taking control in the third quarter and never looking back, ultimately outscoring Minnesota 70–40 in the second half.
A basketball game never turns solely on one factor, but if you’re looking for a stat that jumps out, the Wolves' shooting left them in the second half, especially from beyond the arc; they finished the game making just 15 of 51 three-point attempts.
Take away the hot shooting start of Julius Randle, who made five of his six three-point attempts in the first half, and the rest of the team shot a combined 10 of 45 from beyond the arc.
Adding insult to injury, the whole thing was also historic, as the Wolves shot more threes than any team in NBA history in the conference finals or later, per NBA writer Tom Haberstroh. If you set the record for most three-point attempts and are shooting them at a good clip, that’s one thing. But when all but one player on your team combine to shoot 22.2%, that’s less than ideal.
The tough night was reminiscent of the Celtics' loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they set a record of their own while shooting themselves out of contention.
The Wolves will look to turn things around in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Timberwolves Make Unfortunate Bit of NBA History in Game 1 Loss to Thunder.