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The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a 114-88 Game 1 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. It was a close contest in the first half, but OKC was just too much for Minnesota in the second half. Regardless, many have criticized the officiating crew for allegedly favoring Oklahoma City in the first game of the series. Center Rudy Gobert even blasted the officials for how they called the game.
During a post-practice interview with the media, the 32-year-old center claimed that the way the Thunder play defense warrants more foul calls, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Timberwolves star mentioned the issues he had with the officials several times during his talk with media members.
“I don't expect to get calls. [The Thunder] are very handsy. There are things that aren't going to get called… They're relentless. We knew that, we know there's grabbing, fouling, but we know that we're not going to get all those calls. We have to play through that consistently. We cannot let the missed calls or missing shots disrupt us from going into the next play and doing what we're supposed to do.”
Rudy Gobert said the Thunder’s defense consistently causes contact that should be a foul, but the Wolves have to play through it. Gobert reiterated the point several times during his post-practice remarks Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/NRWmMwCSK2
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 21, 2025
In retrospect, the Thunder only had five more free-throw attempts as a team than the Timberwolves. Oklahoma City finished Game 1 with 26 free throw attempts while Minnesota had 21. So, although the calls felt lopsided, it was more even in the game than many believe.
One reason that so many individuals complained about the calls the Thunder were getting, including Rudy Gobert, was largely due to Shai-Gilgeous Alexander. Of the 26 attempts from the charity stripe, the 26-year-old point guard shot 14 of them. Additionally, there appeared to be several instances where Gilgeous-Alexander would move in a way that made it seem as though he was fouled when, in actuality, nobody touched him at all.
The Timberwolves can only control what they do on the court. Both Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards struggled in Game 1, which played a part in Minnesota's demise in the second half. Gobert wasn't much of a factor at all, as he ended the contest with just two points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block through 21 minutes of play.
