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.

Predictions, picks and odds as the OKC Thunder hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Plus injury updates and news.

One of the ways Finch tries to influence games goes beyond the court. If you follow the NBA long enough, you'll know head coaches occasionally spill their gripes about the officials. Heck, he's done it once already with OKC way back in February when Minnesota shocked the first seed with a 25-point comeback win.

"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he's MVP," Michael Malone said Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN's postgame coverage when discussing the Oklahoma City Thunder's 114-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Eastern Conference finals figure to be a rock fight in the latest installment of the Pacers-Knicks rivalry. The Western Conference finals feature a showdown of two of the league's top stars in Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards.

The NBA fined Oklahoma City star Jalen Williams $25,000 on Monday for "wearing clothing with profane language" to his press conference after the Thunder's Game 7 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.