The Minnesota Timberwolves fell in the Western Conference Finals for a second successive year.
The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a season-ending 124-94 loss in Game 5 of the West Finals against the OKC Thunder.
After beating the LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors with two 4-1 series wins, the Timberwolves lost the series against Oklahoma City in just five games.
Julius Randle was one of the few players who delivered in Game 5, leading the Timberwolves with 24 points on 8-14 shooting, including 4-6 from three.
It was a solid bounce-back game after his nightmare Game 4 performance. But unfortunately, it was too late to save Minnesota’s season.
Speaking postgame in the Minnesota locker room, the Timberwolves star could not hide his sadness and disappointment in what has been a heartbreaking West Finals downfall at the hands of the Thunder.
“Super disappointing, but just the series in general, disappointing,” Randle said, after averaging 17.4 points across the five games.
“I feel like we know we’re a better team than what we showed. So, a lot of motivation going into the summer for sure.”
Randle was heavily criticized early in the year after being traded to Minnesota as part of the deal that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks. He proved his doubters wrong with a series of big performances in the NBA Playoffs.
Randle served as the driving force of the Timberwolves’ postseason run past the LA Lakers and the Golden State Warriors to help the franchise reach a second consecutive Conference Finals appearance.
But facing the Thunder, Randle was completely overwhelmed and could not take over just when it counted. Now, he is set for a painful offseason of reflecting on how he and the Timberwolves came up short in securing the NBA’s biggest prize.
“It hurts,” Randle confessed. “You know, once that buzzer sounds and you’re kind of just able to feel everything from the whole year, it hurts.
“It hurts. So really, that’s where I’m at right now. It’s almost like the grieving stage of the season, and it hurts.
“But we’ll be back.”
