On Thursday, May 22, the Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) and Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14) are all set to square off from Paycom Center in Oklahoma City for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma City closeout Denver in Game 7 at home,

As the league moves onto its semifinal round, gone are the likes of Steph Curry, LeBron James and the Boston Celtics. The teams and figures that have dominated center stage for the last 15-plus years have stepped aside this spring to make way for the next wave.

Two years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves met in the play-in tournament to determine which would get the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports. They start with Oklahoma City’s decisive Game 7 win Sunday over Denver, which set up the Western Conference finals against the Wolves.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the OKC Thunder is headed to the Western Conference finals. To get there, it took surviving the Denver Nuggets.