WASHINGTON: Oklahoma City, sparked by 34 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 by routing Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 on Wednesday.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA Most Valuable Player, added eight assists and seven rebounds as the Thunder captured the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series 4-1 and will host game one of the NBA Finals on June 5.

“This is a step in the right direction but we have a lot more work to do and we know that and that’s what we’re focused on so let’s buckle up and get ready,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to our ultimate goal and this is not it. That’s all that I’m focused on.”

Oklahoma City will face the Eastern Conference champion, either the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks, for the NBA title.

Gilgeous-Alexander, a 26-year-old Canadian who was named the series MVP, could become the first NBA scoring champion since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to win an NBA title in the same season.

Chet Holmgren added 22 points and Jalen Williams netted 19 for the Thunder, whose average age of 25.6 years makes them the youngest team in the NBA Finals since Portland in 1977.

“We have 17 dudes on the roster who will bring it every single game whether it’s a closeout game or not,” Holmgren said.

“It’s a step in the journey. We still have a season to play (in the Finals) so we’re not done.”

Williams was proud of the way players have melded into a team.

“We’ve been through ups and downs this entire season and that has only brought us closer. We’ve been able to bond and get better and that’s why we’re here now,” he said.

“We’ve still got a job to do but it’s very exciting.”

Julius Randle led Minnesota with 24 points while Anthony Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves, who have never reached the NBA Finals.

“They came ready to play. We didn’t,” Edwards said. “They dominated the game from the tip.”

Oklahoma City have never won an NBA title, although the franchise won a crown as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979 before relocating in 2008, and the Thunder last reached the finals in 2012, losing to Miami.

The Thunder had the best record in the NBA this season at 68-14.

“These guys are uncommon,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They do everything right. They are professional. They are high character... They are competitive and most of all they are team first.”

From the start Oklahoma City overpowered Minnesota in epic fashion, as the visitors suffered a nightmare performance when it mattered most.

“We kept our foot on the gas for 48 minutes,” Daigneault said. “The tone we set in the game was really good from the jump.”

“We were beat by the better team,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “This hurts.”

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Thunder grabbed a 26-9 lead, holding the Timberwolves to their lowest points total in any quarter all season.

“They came out and punched us,” Minnesota’s Mike Conley said.

Minnesota shot 3-for-20 in the first quarter, 1-of-9 from three-point range, and lost four turnovers.

Minnesota missed 10 of their first 11 shots as Oklahoma City jumped ahead 11-3 then closed the quarter on a 13-2 run.

The Thunder rolled to a 48-20 advantage early in the second quarter on the way to a 65-32 half-time lead as Minnesota surrendered a season-high 14 first-half turnovers while making only 12 baskets.

The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 37 points before reducing the deficit to 88-62 after three quarters, but never looked like overcoming the Thunder’s dominant performance.

“It hurts,” Conley said. “For me it’s going to take a while to dissect what we weren’t able to do.”

RALEIGH, N.C.: Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left and the defending champion Florida Panthers advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on Wednesday night in Game 5.
The Panthers beat the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final for the second time in three seasons. The Panthers will face the winner of the Western final between Dallas and Edmonton, with the Oilers up 3-1 in that best-of-seven series to put them within a win of a rematch with Florida for the Cup.
Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left by skating down a loose puck straight out of the penalty box after Florida had held up against a critical late power play for the Hurricanes.
That capped a wild night that saw the Hurricanes jump to a 2-0 lead, then Florida answer with three second-period goals, only to see Carolina’s Seth Jarvis beat Sergei Bobrovsky midway through the third to tie it at 3.
When it was over, the Panthers posed for pictures on Carolina’s home ice during the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy for the conference winner. Some Hurricanes fans remained defiant, offering scattered “Let’s go, Oilers!” chants.
The angst is appropriate considering how Florida has now twice ended Carolina’s push to its first Cup Final since winning the franchise’s lone title in 2006 when now-coach Rod Brind’Amour was captain.
Florida had won the first three games of this series but lost 3-0 at home Monday night as the Hurricanes averted a second straight sweep against Florida. But by the final horn Wednesday, the Panthers had won all three games in Raleigh in the series, pushed their road winning streak in these playoffs to five games and earned an eighth postseason road win overall.