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Guarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the likely winner of the 2025 NBA MVP award, is a thankless task. Even if the defender can stay in front of the Oklahoma City Thunder star, Gilgeous-Alexander has mastered the craft of drawing fouls, frustrating everyone all the more. And in the Thunder's 114-88 Game 1 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 31 points on the night, found a way to overcome a rough shooting start by getting to the foul line nine times in the first half alone (he finished with 14 FTAs).
Many feel as though the whistle Gilgeous-Alexander is getting is different from that of everyone else's. And there were times in Game 1 where it was clear that the frustration was getting too much for the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards, during one such play in the first half, even threw the ball towards Gilgeous-Alexander as an expression of his disdain, drawing a technical foul in the process.
Nonetheless, as infuriating as the Thunder star's foul-baiting ways can be to deal with, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch is reminding his guys that they shouldn't get too carried away by their emotions when guarding Gilgeous-Alexander.
“There was a lot of frustration out there. [But] we talked about that before the series started and we have to be able to kind of put that to the side and get on with the next play mentality,” Finch said in his postgame presser, via @ohnohedidnt24 on X (formerly Twitter).
Finch on his players being frustrated with the calls SGA was drawing:
"We talked about that before the series started and we have to be able to kind of put that to the side and get on with the next play mentality" pic.twitter.com/q1zMqoU095
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 21, 2025
Indeed, it's already a difficult undertaking as it is to defeat the Thunder. Thus, they cannot lose the mind games too. They must stand their ground and stick to the task even when it gets frustrating, and they cannot allow it to snowball into the other end of the floor where they shot 14-40 from the field (5-23 from deep).
Timberwolves feel the wrath of the Thunder's defense
The second half was simply a masterclass from the Thunder. They showed why they won 68 games in the regular season, as even when they look vulnerable like they did in the first half, they can turn it around in a hurry thanks to their excellent defense that not only covers a ton of ground on the floor, but also forces a ton of turnovers.
Minnesota was one of the most proficient teams from deep in the regular season, but jacking up difficult contested triples is a lot different than open catch-and-shoots created by dribble penetration. Back to the drawing board the Timberwolves must go if they were to steal at least one game in OKC.
