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The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder are in a tight battle in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, but Oklahoma City is sticking around despite all three of its biggest stars struggling mightily to score the ball. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having an especially tough time and is just 2-for-13 from the field at halftime.
Despite the tough shooting from the floor, the presumptive MVP is still putting up points. He scored 11 points in the first half, in large part thanks to his 7-for-9 tally from the free throw line.
Early in the game, after his third trip to the charity stripe in a short amount of time, ESPN color analyst Doris Burke brought back an Internet narrative about the Thunder star.
Mike Breen: "[SGA] has taken 7 free throws already in 4 minutes and 30 seconds."
Doris Burke: "There's a reason NBA Twitter likes to call [Shai] the free throw merchant, Mike" 😭pic.twitter.com/odGKUnIz4I
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 21, 2025
“There's a reason NBA Twitter likes to call him the free throw merchant,” Burke said as Gilgeous-Alexander splashed another one from the stripe.
When he isn't getting to the foul line, the Timberwolves are making it very difficult for Gilgeous-Alexander to get to his spots and get off good shots. Oftentimes, the NBA scoring champ is stuck in no man's land and is forced to give it up due to the bodies that he is seeing, or he ends up taking a desperation shot at the end of the clock.
The Thunder were able to survive the first half with Gilgeous-Alexander off his game, as they trail by just four points in a 48-44 game. However if they want to come back and win the game and the series, Oklahoma City will need him at the top of his game.
That won't be easy against a Timberwolves group that is led by elite defenders like Jaden McDaniels. McDaniels has hounded Gilgeous-Alexander throughout the first half and will likely continue to do so throughout the next few weeks. Now, the onus is on the Oklahoma City superstar to find a solution and get back to his usual self on the offensive side of the ball.
