Oklahoma City Thunder enter West finals undefeated

Oklahoma City will open the Western Conference finals on Monday without a playoff loss. The Thunder advanced after sweeping Phoenix in the first round and the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals, according to the NBA’s playoff bracket. San Antonio secured the matchup on Friday by beating Minnesota to win its semifinal series 4-2. The result set a conference finals pairing between the top two teams in the West and sent Game 1 to Oklahoma City because the Thunder finished with the conference’s best regular-season record. ### How did Oklahoma City get here without a loss? Oklahoma City reached the conference finals at 8-0 in the postseason. The NBA bracket shows the Thunder swept the Suns 4-0 in the first round and then swept the Lakers 4-0 in the second round. The Thunder’s regular-season record also gave them home-court advantage in this round. StatMuse lists Oklahoma City at 64-18, ahead of San Antonio’s 62-20 mark in the Western Conference standings. (nba.com) ### What did San Antonio do on Friday to set the matchup? San Antonio closed out Minnesota on Friday, May 15, to advance. (nba.com) NBA.com’s West finals page says the Spurs moved on after finishing their semifinal series with the Timberwolves, setting a 1-versus-2 matchup with Oklahoma City. Basketball-Reference lists San Antonio’s last game as a win before the conference finals and shows the Spurs had already beaten Portland 4-1 in the first round. (statmuse.com) That left San Antonio with a longer path than Oklahoma City, which had been idle after its sweep of Los Angeles. ### Why are people focused on the regular-season matchup? (nba.com) San Antonio won four of five regular-season games against Oklahoma City. StatMuse’s game log shows Spurs wins on Dec. 13, Dec. 23, Dec. 25 and Feb. 4, while the Thunder’s only win in the season series came on Jan. 13 in Oklahoma City. Those results are part of why this series arrives with two strong records attached to it. (basketball-reference.com) StatMuse lists the Thunder as the West’s No. 1 team at 64-18 and the Spurs as No. 2 at 62-20. ### When does the series start, and who hosts? Game 1 is scheduled for Monday, May 18, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern in Oklahoma City. NBA.com’s conference finals page lists Games 1 and 2 on May 18 and May 20, with Games 3 and 4 on May 22 and May 24. (statmuse.com) The same NBA schedule lists a possible Game 5 on May 26, Game 6 on May 28 and Game 7 on May 30. Because Oklahoma City owns the better regular-season record, the Thunder host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 if needed. (statmuse.com) ### How does this fit into the rest of the playoff calendar? June 3 is the scheduled start of the NBA Finals. The NBA playoff bracket shows the Finals opening that day after the conference finals conclude. (nba.com) The Western Conference finals will begin before the East is settled. The NBA bracket shows the Knicks had already advanced, while the Cavaliers and Pistons were still in a 3-3 Eastern Conference semifinal series as of Saturday, May 16. (nba.com) Monday, May 18, is the next date on the schedule for Oklahoma City and San Antonio. NBA.com lists the opener at 8:30 p.m. (nba.com) Eastern on Peacock and NBC, with Game 2 set for Wednesday, May 20, before the series shifts to San Antonio on Friday, May 22. (nba.com)