Minnesota Timberwolves vs OKC Thunder Player Stats and Box Score for Dec. 31

The Minnesota Timberwolves visited the OKC Thunder at the Paycom Center on New Year’s Eve. The Timberwolves were looking to extend their winning streak to four, while the Thunder have won 11 consecutive games since the first day of December.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outperformed Anthony Edwards to lead the Thunder to a 113-105 win. SGA finished with 40 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals on 15-for-23 shooting. Edwards only had 20 points and only took 12 shots as the Timberwolves’ four-game winning streak was snapped.

Isaiah Hartenstein had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort each scored 14 points. Naz Reid had 19 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Timberwolves. Mike Conley added 16 points and four assists.

•

Minnesota Timberwolves vs OKC Thunder Player Stats and Box Score

Timberwolves

Players PTS REB AST STL BLK TO PF MIN FG 3pt FT +/- Julius Randle 11 6 6 0 1 4 1 27 5-12 1-4 0-0 -7 Jaden McDaniels 7 6 0 0 0 3 2 27 3-8 1-5 0-0 2 Rudy Gobert 8 7 1 0 2 1 2 31 3-6 0-0 2-2 3 Mike Conley 16 1 4 2 0 1 1 23 5-10 4-7 2-2 -2 Anthony Edwards 20 7 2 0 1 3 3 38 6-12 4-7 4-4 -1 Josh Minott 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 10 3-4 0-1 0-0 -5 Naz Reid 19 8 1 1 3 4 4 32 8-14 1-5 2-2 -6 Donte DiVincenzo 10 4 5 0 0 2 2 29 3-10 2-7 2-2 -4 Nickeil Alexander-Walker 8 4 1 0 0 5 3 19 3-3 2-2 0-0 -12 Leonard Miller DNP Joe Ingles DNP Daishen Nix DNP Terrence Shannon Jr. DNP

Thunder

Players PTS REB AST STL BLK TO PF MIN FG 3pt FT +/- Jalen Williams 14 7 7 3 0 3 3 37 6-12 1-4 1-4 -12 Isaiah Hartenstein 15 10 4 1 2 0 1 32 5-10 0-1 5-5 11 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 40 3 2 2 0 3 1 34 15-23 3-5 7-9 9 Luguentz there 14 7 2 0 0 2 2 34 5-12 4-7 0-0 1 Cason Wallace 5 2 7 5 0 0 2 32 1-8 0-4 3-4 19 Jaylin Williams 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 10 1-4 1-4 0-0 -6 Kenrich Williams 5 2 0 1 0 1 2 15 2-4 1-2 0-0 -4 Isaiah Joe 7 0 1 1 0 0 0 13 3-6 1-4 0-0 20 Aaron Wiggins 7 3 1 1 0 1 0 14 3-6 1-2 0-0 -8 Ajay Mitchell 3 3 0 0 0 0 2 18 1-4 0-3 1-1 2 Dillon Jones DNP Ousmane Dieng DNP Branden Carlson DNP

Minnesota Timberwolves vs OKC Thunder Game Summary

The Minnesota Timberwolves used their size advantage to try to take control of the first quarter, but the gritty OKC Thunder defense kept it close. Julius Randle was bullying his way on the post, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was giving problems to the Timberwolves’ perimeter guys.

Randle had seven points and three rebounds, while Anthony Edwards was held to just two points. SGA finished the first 12 minutes with 10 points on six shots, with Luguentz Dort providing backup with five points. The Thunder were down 24-21 entering the second quarter.

Edwards took over the game in the second period, scoring 13 points to boost the Timberwolves lead. They were up by as much as 12 points midway through the period, but the Thunder were not going to let the fans in attendance down. They managed to trim it to just six at the half, with a score of 52-46.

In the third quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander completely took over the game to give the OKC Thunder complete control. SGA had 19 points in the period alone, single-handedly putting the Minnesota Timberwolves in misery. The Thunder outscored the Timberwolves 43-23 in the third.

Minnesota tried to make a comeback in the final quarter, but the Thunder did too much damage. Anthony Edwards wasn’t aggressive and the team just had too many turnovers. Oklahoma City had every answer to hold on for the 113-105 victory.

It was the Thunder’s 12th straight win, ending 2024 with a bang to improve to 27-5 for the season. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, dropped to 17-15. They are still sitting eighth in the Western Conference standings ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.

Why did you not like this content?

Cancel
Submit

Was this article helpful?