By Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — All season long, the Oklahoma City Thunder displayed dominance unlike any other team and that all culminated with their first trip to the NBA Finals in 13 years.
The Thunder blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 to win the Western Conference Finals in five games and will play for the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time since 2012.
Besides a major Game 3 blip – where Oklahoma City lost by an astounding 42 points – the Thunder maintained total control in the series which was on complete display Wednesday at the Paycom Center.
OKC opened the game with an 11-3 run and never looked back, holding the high-powered Wolves offense to a measly nine points total in the first quarter.
Oklahoma City led by almost 30 at the half and went into the final frame with an 88-62 lead.
Newly named NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists, with Chet Holmgren adding 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The 26-year-old Canadian star was named the Western Conference Final MVP, the awarding of which he called a “good feeling.”
“(The) stuff you dream about as a kid,” Gilgeous-Alexander told the ESPN broadcast. “I just want to shout out these fans. They been here – a couple years I got here, there were some really dark times in this arena. Not fun times and these fans have been on our side through thick and thin. So, we appreciate them first and foremost and, of course, I want to thank my teammates.
“Without them, I am nothing. Clear as day, I don’t have 124 points (over the series) by myself. I love these guys to death. With all that being said, this is a step in the right direction, but we have a lot more work to do.”
Gilgeous-Alexander now becomes the first player to be named regular season MVP and play in the NBA Finals in the same year since Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry in 2015-16.
Thunder chairman Clayton Bennett and head coach Mark Daigneault were the first ones to accept the Oscar Robertson Trophy, awarded to the Western Conference champions to an raucous crowd on hand in Oklahoma City.
The fifth-year coach was asked how the Thunder, the league’s youngest team, was able to achieve this success despite history proving otherwise for greener squads. He said his players were “uncommon.”
“They do everything right. They’re professional. They’re high character. They’re idiots,” Daigneault quipped to the ESPN broadcast while his players wrapped towels over his head as they did all season long. “They’re competitive. And most of all, they’re team first. They embody everything it means to be a team.”
It was another year of heartbreak for Minnesota, with the T-Wolves’ season coming to an in the conference finals for the second consecutive campaign.
The Wolves struggled shooting the ball and had 21 turnovers with Julius Randle scoring a team-high 24 points and Anthony Edwards adding 19.
“We just struggled to find a rhythm,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch told reporters after the game. “Everyone was kind of trying to do it all by themselves. We lost our connectivity. But all credit to the Thunder; they certainly deserve this. They played outstanding, and we came up short in a lot of ways.”
The Thunder will have to wait at least a day to find out who they will face in their second-ever Finals.
The team will face the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals where the Indiana Pacers currently lead the New York Knicks 3-1 with Game 5 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.
The NBA Finals are scheduled to tip off on June 5.
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Oklahoma City Thunder down Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5, advance to first NBA Finals since 2012 News Channel 3-12.
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