Timberwolves takeaways: Season ends with 124-94 loss to Thunder in Western Conference finals

OKLAHOMA CITY – When the Timberwolves are ready for their season to be over, they certainly don’t hide it.

Last season in the NBA Western Conference finals, they trailed by as many as 36 before they lost to the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center in Game 5.

This season, it got worse. The Oklahoma City Thunder led by 39 points in the second half and rolled to a 124-94 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night, winning the Western Conference finals 4-1.

The Wolves were never in it at Paycom Center, as the Thunder rolled over them one last time on their home floor. The Wolves didn’t look like they had any interest in being on the floor after losing a close one in Game 4 at Target Center that would have evened the series.

Instead, this series was defined by their fragility on the road, and how the Thunder wore them down with their top-rated defense and made them look out of sorts.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the series MVP and scored 34 points Wednesday. Chet Holmgren added 22 and Jalen Williams 19 before the Thunder cleared their bench early in the fourth quarter.

Julius Randle had 24 and Anthony Edwards 19 for the Wolves, who shot 41.2% from the field to OKC’s 52.3%. Randle had eight points and four turnovers, though, in the first half as things unraveled quickly.

Oklahoma City advances to the NBA Finals, while the Wolves head home with a number of questions looming in the offseason for potential free agents Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

The Wolves scored just nine points in the first quarter, a low for the season, and committed 21 turnovers on the night.

Vacation awaits, and the Wolves looked as if they couldn’t wait to get started.

The opening minutes. The Wolves went 1-for-11 to open the game, and the evening got out of control from there. They lost all confidence on offense, and that affected their execution at the other end of the floor. Jaden McDaniels began the game 0-for-6.

They again turned the ball over at a high rate. They finished the disastrous first quarter with just nine points, their lowest point total of any quarter this season. They looked emotionally and physically spent after losing in Game 4.

Coach Chris Finch talked about the need for the Wolves to avoid the “five-minute meltdown” against the Thunder. The first quarter played out like one long meltdown. The only Wolves player to hit a shot outside of Edwards was Randle. The rest of the team was 0-for-12. Gilgeous-Alexander had 12 points for the Thunder, and the Wolves switched to a zone defense later in the quarter to slow him down. But the Wolves just couldn’t score, and they turned it over four times.

The second quarter was more of a disaster than the first. With 9:04 left in the second, Oklahoma City was up 36-14, Randle had four turnovers and Reid had three. The Wolves just appeared apathetic on either end of the floor and helpless to combat the buzzsaw that was the Thunder defense.

On offense, the Thunder didn’t have much trouble getting the shots they wanted.

The Wolves seemed content to count down the minutes until their season was over. They had more turnovers at the half (14) than made field goals (12).

Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP honors, but hat tip to Williams, who answered a lot of questions about his postseason readiness. He had a strong series overall, especially in Game 4, when he scored 34 in a game that essentially won the Thunder the series.

A busy offseason. Will Randle, Reid (both of whom have player options) and Alexander-Walker (unrestricted free agent) be back? Will the Wolves trade for Kevin Durant, after having interest in him at the deadline? They also have the No. 17 and No. 31 picks in the NBA draft. There will be a lot of action over the next month-plus.