Even on short rest, the Oklahoma City Thunder were dominant in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, erasing a four-point halftime deficit to win by 26 at home.
The Minnesota Timberwolves led 48-44 at the half, but the No. 1 Thunder defense stepped up in a big way in the second half, allowing just 40 points in the 114-88 win. OKC’s offense also started clicking, especially with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting things going from the field. After a 2-for-13 shooting performance in the first half, SGA knocked down eight of his 14 shots in the second half to finish with 31 points.
With the win, Oklahoma City has jumped to an even bigger favorite to win the title in the latest odds at DraftKings. The Thunder were odds-on favorites entering this series at -145, but they are now -200 (an implied probabilty of 66.67 percent) to win the title this season.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have seen their odds take a massive hit. The Wolves were the No. 3 choice to win the title at +550 ahead of Game 1, but they have fallen all the way back to +1000 with Tuesday’s loss.
Minnesota simply needs more from Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid, as the bench duo combined to shoot just 4-for-25 in Game 1. Reid missed all of his 3-point attempts in the game and was just 1-for-11 from the field.
In addition to that, the Thunder defense did a great job of limiting Anthony Edwards, who took just 13 shots in the game. Edwards seemed to be under control in the first half, allowing Julius Randle (20 first-half points) to cook, but the star guard didn’t have much of a scoring impact in the game.
OKC finished the regular season with the best defensive rating in the NBA, and that has carried into the playoffs. After a closely-contested second-round series with the Denver Nuggets, the Thunder may be poised to make quick work of the No. 6-seeded Timberwolves.
Based on the latest odds, it seems like the 2025 NBA title is OKC’s to lose after Game 1.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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