The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves are the two teams left standing in the West. The Thunder and Wolves are meeting in the Western Conference finals with both sides looking for a long-awaited NBA Finals appearance. Oklahoma City has not been to the NBA Finals since 2012, while the Timberwolves have no Finals appearances in their history.
The top-seeded Thunder have been the West’s top team all season long. They won 68 games in the regular season and swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. But they were tested in the second round by Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets. OKC won the second-round series in seven games, blowing out Denver in Game 7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the presumptive NBA MVP, has been leading the Thunder in scoring throughout the playoffs and posted 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting in Game 7.
The Wolves have a superstar scorer of their own as Anthony Edwards has brought Minnesota to the conference finals for the second year in a row. The Timberwolves are 8-2 so far in these playoffs, eliminating the Lakers and Warriors through two rounds. Minnesota dropped Game 1 against Golden State, but then rattled off four consecutive wins as Stephen Curry was sidelined with a hamstring strain.
The Timberwolves hope to avenge last postseason’s conference finals disappointment, as they lost in five games against the Dallas Mavericks in 2024. The Thunder are in the conference finals for the first time since 2016, when they came up short against the Warriors.
Below is the complete schedule for the Western Conference finals.
Western Conference finals schedule
All times Eastern
Game 1: Tuesday, May 20 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 2: Thursday, May 22 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 3: Saturday, May 24 | Thunder vs. Timberwolves | 8:30 p.m., ABC/fubo
Game 4: Monday, May 26 | Thunder vs. Timberwolves | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
*Game 5: Wednesday, May 28 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
*Game 6: Friday, May 30 | Thunder vs. Timberwolves | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
*Game 7: Sunday, June 1 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Thunder vs. Timberwolves odds
Odds via DraftKings
- Series odds: Thunder -330, Timberwolves +265
- Game 1 odds: Thunder -7.5, O/U 214
Thunder vs. Timberwolves: Game 1 best bet
Coming before Tuesday’s Game 1.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Lionel Messi, in rare interview, says reeling Inter Miami will ‘come through this’
<!--> Lionel Messi isn't happy right now. After Inter Miami was routed 3-0 by Orlando on Sunday night and fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion — who rarely gives interviews after matches — told Apple TV that it's imperative for the team to stick together."It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to come through this," Messi said in Spanish. "Now we’ll really see if we’re a team. These are difficult times. When everything is going well it’s very easy, but when difficult times come — like now — we have to be more united than ever, be a real team, and get through it."Inter Miami fell to 6-3-4 in Major League Soccer this season, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Messi's team set an MLS record […]
Lionel Messi, in rare interview, says reeling Inter Miami will ‘come through this’
<!--> Lionel Messi isn't happy right now. After Inter Miami was routed 3-0 by Orlando on Sunday night and fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion — who rarely gives interviews after matches — told Apple TV that it's imperative for the team to stick together."It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to come through this," Messi said in Spanish. "Now we’ll really see if we’re a team. These are difficult times. When everything is going well it’s very easy, but when difficult times come — like now — we have to be more united than ever, be a real team, and get through it."Inter Miami fell to 6-3-4 in Major League Soccer this season, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Messi's team set an MLS record […]
Lionel Messi, in rare interview, says reeling Inter Miami will ‘come through this’
<!--> Lionel Messi isn't happy right now. After Inter Miami was routed 3-0 by Orlando on Sunday night and fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion — who rarely gives interviews after matches — told Apple TV that it's imperative for the team to stick together."It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to come through this," Messi said in Spanish. "Now we’ll really see if we’re a team. These are difficult times. When everything is going well it’s very easy, but when difficult times come — like now — we have to be more united than ever, be a real team, and get through it."Inter Miami fell to 6-3-4 in Major League Soccer this season, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Messi's team set an MLS record […]
No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole
Bob Pockrass FOX Motorsports Insider <!--> INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Motor Speedway has no peer, and this incredible palace of speed played host to an incredible pole-setting day Sunday.Robert Shwartzman became the first rookie since 1983 to win the pole for an Indianapolis 500, a driver few would have expected to win the pole for the biggest oval race in the world — considering he has never raced on an oval in his life.And in unexpected fashion, Team Penske had two of its drivers (two-time defending race winner Josef Newgarden and Will Power) parked on the final day of qualifying for a rules violation where they had filled seams that connected to their attenuator. The other Penske driver — defending race pole sitter Scott McLaughlin — never got to qualifying after a hard wreck in practice.It wouldn’t matter who was battling Shwartzman […]
Thunder stay ‘in character,’ join a delightfully surprising NBA Final Four
OKLAHOMA CITY — It would have been one thing if these youthful, exuberant and absurdly-talented Oklahoma City Thunder imposed their will on the decimated Denver Nuggets in this West semifinal series, sweeping them en route to asserting their title-contending superiority or, at worst, sending them home with a gentleman’s sweep.AdvertisementBut they didn’t.Or if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was so magnificent that it made you wonder how any defense could possibly stop him (and by proxy, them) during this (soon-to-be) MVP campaign. That didn’t happen, either.This was a seven-game slugfest, one that revealed the Nuggets’ championship grit amid so many setbacks (Aaron Gordon’s hamstring, Michael Porter Jr.’s shoulder) while exposing the warts (inexperience and inconsistency) that still exist on this loaded Thunder team that is the youngest ever to reach the West finals. And in this postseason where everything we thought we learned […]
Lionel Messi on Inter Miami’s second straight loss: ‘The truth is, yeah, it hurts’
Inter Miami’s woeful stretch continued into Sunday night as Lionel Messi’s side fell 3-0 in a rivalry match at home against Orlando City. The result marked Miami’s second consecutive — and second ever — three-goal defeat with Messi involved, following a 4-1 loss at Minnesota United.After the match, Messi gave a relatively rare post-match interview, having spoken through Apple’s streaming platform only with infrequency since signing with Inter Miami in July 2023. To date, nearly all media availability involving the Argentine captain has been in news conferences or pre-recorded studio settings away from his matches. However, the latest loss spurred him to speak with MLS Season Pass reporter Michele Giannone.Advertisement“The truth is, yeah, it hurts to lose one more game,” Messi said. “We’re coming off a period of poor results but we have to keep working and think about what’s […]
Related
Lionel Messi, in rare interview, says reeling Inter Miami will ‘come through this’
<!--> Lionel Messi isn't happy right now. After Inter Miami was routed 3-0 by Orlando on Sunday night and fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion — who rarely gives interviews after matches — told Apple TV that it's imperative for the team to stick together."It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to come through this," Messi said in Spanish. "Now we’ll really see if we’re a team. These are difficult times. When everything is going well it’s very easy, but when difficult times come — like now — we have to be more united than ever, be a real team, and get through it."Inter Miami fell to 6-3-4 in Major League Soccer this season, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Messi's team set an MLS record […]
Lionel Messi, in rare interview, says reeling Inter Miami will ‘come through this’
<!--> Lionel Messi isn't happy right now. After Inter Miami was routed 3-0 by Orlando on Sunday night and fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion — who rarely gives interviews after matches — told Apple TV that it's imperative for the team to stick together."It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to come through this," Messi said in Spanish. "Now we’ll really see if we’re a team. These are difficult times. When everything is going well it’s very easy, but when difficult times come — like now — we have to be more united than ever, be a real team, and get through it."Inter Miami fell to 6-3-4 in Major League Soccer this season, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Messi's team set an MLS record […]
Lionel Messi, in rare interview, says reeling Inter Miami will ‘come through this’
<!--> Lionel Messi isn't happy right now. After Inter Miami was routed 3-0 by Orlando on Sunday night and fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion — who rarely gives interviews after matches — told Apple TV that it's imperative for the team to stick together."It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to come through this," Messi said in Spanish. "Now we’ll really see if we’re a team. These are difficult times. When everything is going well it’s very easy, but when difficult times come — like now — we have to be more united than ever, be a real team, and get through it."Inter Miami fell to 6-3-4 in Major League Soccer this season, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Messi's team set an MLS record […]
No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole
Bob Pockrass FOX Motorsports Insider <!--> INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Motor Speedway has no peer, and this incredible palace of speed played host to an incredible pole-setting day Sunday.Robert Shwartzman became the first rookie since 1983 to win the pole for an Indianapolis 500, a driver few would have expected to win the pole for the biggest oval race in the world — considering he has never raced on an oval in his life.And in unexpected fashion, Team Penske had two of its drivers (two-time defending race winner Josef Newgarden and Will Power) parked on the final day of qualifying for a rules violation where they had filled seams that connected to their attenuator. The other Penske driver — defending race pole sitter Scott McLaughlin — never got to qualifying after a hard wreck in practice.It wouldn’t matter who was battling Shwartzman […]
Thunder stay ‘in character,’ join a delightfully surprising NBA Final Four
OKLAHOMA CITY — It would have been one thing if these youthful, exuberant and absurdly-talented Oklahoma City Thunder imposed their will on the decimated Denver Nuggets in this West semifinal series, sweeping them en route to asserting their title-contending superiority or, at worst, sending them home with a gentleman’s sweep.AdvertisementBut they didn’t.Or if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was so magnificent that it made you wonder how any defense could possibly stop him (and by proxy, them) during this (soon-to-be) MVP campaign. That didn’t happen, either.This was a seven-game slugfest, one that revealed the Nuggets’ championship grit amid so many setbacks (Aaron Gordon’s hamstring, Michael Porter Jr.’s shoulder) while exposing the warts (inexperience and inconsistency) that still exist on this loaded Thunder team that is the youngest ever to reach the West finals. And in this postseason where everything we thought we learned […]
Lionel Messi on Inter Miami’s second straight loss: ‘The truth is, yeah, it hurts’
Inter Miami’s woeful stretch continued into Sunday night as Lionel Messi’s side fell 3-0 in a rivalry match at home against Orlando City. The result marked Miami’s second consecutive — and second ever — three-goal defeat with Messi involved, following a 4-1 loss at Minnesota United.After the match, Messi gave a relatively rare post-match interview, having spoken through Apple’s streaming platform only with infrequency since signing with Inter Miami in July 2023. To date, nearly all media availability involving the Argentine captain has been in news conferences or pre-recorded studio settings away from his matches. However, the latest loss spurred him to speak with MLS Season Pass reporter Michele Giannone.Advertisement“The truth is, yeah, it hurts to lose one more game,” Messi said. “We’re coming off a period of poor results but we have to keep working and think about what’s […]
Be the first to leave a comment