The Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder meet in Game 5 of the best-of-seven Western Conference finals on Wednesday night at Paycom Center. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
After an historic 143-101 win in Game 3, the Wolves defense let them down in a 128-126 loss in Game 4 on Monday night at Target Center. Oklahoma City now leads the series 3-1 and can advance to their first NBA finals since 2012 on Wednesday at home.
The Thunder are the top seed in the West and swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round before eliminating 2023 NBA champion Denver in a seven-game series. The Timberwolves are the sixth seed but needed only five games in each series to beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Here’s everything you need to know about Game 5 and the series:
How/when to watch
- Game 1: Tuesday, May 20 | Thunder 114, Wolves 88
- Game 2: Thursday, May 22 | Thunder 118, Wolves 103
- Game 3: Saturday, May 24 | Wolves 143, Thunder 101
- Game 4: Monday, May 26 | Thunder 128, Wolves 126
- Game 5: Wednesday, May 28 | Paycom Center in Oklahoma City | 7:30 p.m. CT, ESPN
- Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, May 30 | Target Center in Minneapolis | 7:30 p.m. CT, ESPN
- Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday, June 1 | Paycom Center in Oklahoma City | 7 p.m. CT, ESPN
Pregame reads
- Here’s the series matchup with the schedule, key players, top story lines and a prediction.
- Chris Hine wrote about the paths of the two teams, who met in a play-in game two years ago and have taken different journeys to tonight.
- How were the Timberwolves built? This is a look at the team, with some fun facts about each player and coach Chris Finch.
- Chris Hine wrote about the brotherly bond between Nickeil Alexander-Walker and his MVP cousin, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
- “We’ve got to play like there’s no tomorrow” — It’s officially win or go home for the Wolves hiding into Wednesday night.
- It might hurt right now, but Wolves fans should appreciate watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league MVP, work, and know that this is what it takes to make an NBA Finals.
- Follow the game. We will have a live blog giving updates throughout the game, including the score, stats, highlights, and everything in between.
Keep up postgame
- We will have a postgame podcast with Daily Delivery host Michael Rand and sports editor Ryan Kostecka. They’ll break down what they saw in Game 5, how each team moves forward, and give a short preview of the Eastern Conference finals between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers.
- We will have numerous stories recapping the result while providing in-depth analysis, opinion and everything you need to know.
Where to watch
- There will be live watch parties at numerous locations throughout the Twin Cities and beyond. We have confirmed watch parties for Game 5 at Modist Brewing Co., Falling Knife Brewing Co., Tom’s Watch Bar, Thrive Bar and Riverview Theater.
