This NBA Western Conference Finals stat is an encouraging sign for Thunder fans after Game 1 win

The Thunder rallied back after a slow start in the first quarter to beat the Timberwolves at home in Game 1.

They trailed Minnesota 48-44 at halftime, but the floodgates opened in the second half, as they outscored the Timberwolves 70-40 to win the game 114-88.

They did their job protecting homecourt, and there's a very encouraging stat in their favor regarding the chance of winning the series when teams win Game 1 of the WCF at home.

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Why should Thunder fans feel encouraged after Game 1 win?

ESPN showed a stat after the game that West teams are 16-1 in conference finals series when they win Game 1 since 2000.

OKC is in that very position now, with history in their favor.

The final score doesn't tell the entire story of the game, and Minnesota should come back Thursday night with a stronger full 48-minute effort.

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In the first half, it looked like the Timberwolves were going to have the Thunder on their heels in this game and series, but just fell apart and the deficit continued to grow.

MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did have an off night shooting-wise, just 10/27 from the field.

This is fairly encouraging for the Thunder considering they were still able to win by a large margin without their star player playing as well as he has in the past.

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