Oklahoma City's defense clamps down, Anthony Edwards can't answer and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander perseveres at the foul line in Game 1 of the West Finals.

The Thunder were the best team in the NBA all season for a reason. They harass you physically on both ends of the floor, with relentless defensive ball pressure and a constant attacking of the rim on offense.

Anthony Edwards went quiet. The bench went cold. And the Timberwolves found out that their margin for error in the Western Conference finals will be appreciably smaller than the first two playoff series.

OKC defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-88 in Tuesday's Game 1 at Paycom Center with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way as he has all season. The MVP candidate finished with 31 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals and spearheaded a strong second-half comeback effort.

The Thunder were spurred by a 17-2 run in the second half to run away with Game 1 of the Western Conference finals

On Tuesday, the Thunder switched it up and went with Oklahoma-born singer Ben Rector. He played piano while singing, and it was top-notch. The Thunder is 2-0 in series where Big Rob opens. There is no such track record with Rector. His grade will go up if this series’ result is similar.

Chris Finch opened his post-game interview following the Minnesota Timberwolves' 114-88 Game 1 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder by discussing Minnesota’s

Falling to the floor after absorbing contact from Jaden McDaniels, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flipped the ball toward the bucket.

Michael Malone, who was fired by the Denver Nuggets with three games remaining in the regular season, will join ESPN for coverage of the Western Conference finals.