CNN
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The day after he crowned the NBA MVP, Shy Gilgaus Alexander gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a 118-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading the 2-0 series in the Western Conference Finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander introduced Michael Jorden Trophy ahead of Game 2 on Thursday, then scored 38 points – tied the career playoffs high – eight assists and three steels thundering in the driver’s seat of this series.
The 26-year-old scored at least 30 points in five consecutive playoff games.
“It really feels good,” Gilgaus Alexander said of guiding the performance after winning the award. “My emotions were so high that I was a little tired, especially at first, I was a little too juiced.
“It’s a special moment. I’m glad we won, so we really enjoy the last few days and we can absorb it all. It really helps. I’ll scream at the team. I’ll play well tonight and head to Minnesota 2-0.”
“I just wanted to lean on my teammates early,” he added. “I thought about getting out and forcing my first few shots, but then, “No, that’s probably not the road. I wanted to come to me and leaning towards my teammates, go through them and play.”
With Thursday’s victory, OKC showed off the depth behind Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Williams continued to rise rapidly to stardom with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Chet Holmglen had one of the best games of the postseason, adding 22 points and 4 rebounds.
The game was a relatively close incident, as we did in Game 1, until The Dunder used the third quarter blitz to blow the T-wolves off. This time it was a 14-2 run that helped Oklahoma City get full control and ultimately pushed the lead to 24.
Timberwolves closed the gap to 10 fourth, but the lightning kept it very comfortable with arm length.
Anthony Edwards doubled the Timberwolves’ shot attempt after saying he needs to shoot more after Game 1 and needs to record 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Jaden McDaniels added 22 points to the Timberwolves, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin) leaving 17 people off the bench.
Julius Randle, who quickly earned “Playoff Julius” Monica, had a poor first performance in the postseason, earning just six points on two of 11 shootings.
“We thought we weren’t closing the half well again,” said Minnesota head coach Chris Finch. “I thought if we had better close the half, thirdly we wouldn’t put ourselves on the edge of such a razor.
“We only had six spins at halftime, and we had a few more turnovers in the third quarter, and we missed a shot and didn’t finish in the basket, so it was a lot.
“Every minute of this series is a chance to find something,” Finch added. “So we are going to go home as a good team at home, so we are going to fight for Game 3.
Game 3 will take place in Minnesota on Saturday. In Minnesota, the Timberwolves have lost only one of their last 10 games, and this postseason is 4-1.