The night began with Lu Dort and Jalen Williams being named to the All-Defensive Teams, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hoisting the Michael Jordan Trophy to a raucous home crowd after being crowned the 2025 league MVP.
It ended perfectly, too, with the Thunder seizing a 2-0 lead over the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals as the series now shifts to Minnesota.
As they’ve proved all season long, it’s one for all, all for one for SGA and Oklahoma City.
“When you win games, you do it together and you have fun out there, everything else -- all the individual stuff you want -- comes with it," Gilgeous-Alexander said after dropping 38 points in the Thunder’s 118-103 Game 2 victory.
[ALSO READ: Newly-minted MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pushes Thunder past Timberwolves for 2-0 WCF lead]
The 26-year-old superstar showed why he’s the MVP with a poised performance despite the emotional high of the awarding ceremony before tip-off.
In the end, he became the first player in OKC history to record five consecutive 30-point playoff games — a feat that even franchise legends like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden never achieved during their time with the Thunder.
“I feel like all my emotions were so high, but I was a little bit tired out there, especially at the start," Gilgeous-Alexander admitted.
He continued: "I was a little too juiced up. Special moment. I’m happy we won so I can really enjoy the last couple days and soak it up. That really helps.”
SGA raced to a fast start with 19 points in the first half. He finished with 13 points from the free-throw line—one more than the entire Timberwolves starting lineup, which combined for just 12 made free throws in the game.
“He came ready to play. I thought he led [us] tonight with his approach and his force. He was really aggressive and efficient,” Daigneault spoke on his superstar’s performance in the post-game press conference.
Williams added a solid double-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists as OKC became the only team this season to have multiple All-Defensive Team members.
“We just take pride in defense. It’s just what gets us going and we kinda try to make it our identity,” Williams bared.
For the second straight game, OKC flipped the switch in the third quarter, extending an eight-point halftime lead to as many as 24 points during that stretch.
The Thunder have now outscored the Timberwolves 67–39 in the third quarter across the first two games of the series.
“We were terrible coming out of the first half in the last series and that’s just been our emphasis ever since. We’ve done a good job in the last two games and it’s going to be very important on the road. We just need to keep pushing forward,” SGA emphasized.
However, Oklahoma City expects the Timberwolves to “come out swinging and ready to play” as the series shifts to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4.
“We just have to do the same thing and we just have to bring it,” Chet Holmgren, who ended up with 22 points, insisted.
