OKLAHOMA CITY – Last season, the Timberwolves and Thunder went toe to toe for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference until the final day of the regular season. This season, the entire West is looking up at Oklahoma City, which began the night five games ahead of No. 2 Memphis.
For the Wolves, the mission is to find a groove and chemistry with this roster that by the time the playoffs roll around, they can compete with anyone, regardless of seed.
Their fortunes turned in a disastrous third quarter Wednesday as they fell 113-105 in their first matchup with Oklahoma City this season.
The Wolves committed 12 of their 24 turnovers in the third and fell behind too much to make up the difference in the fourth up against a brilliant night from MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 40 points. Anthony Edwards had 20 for the Wolves while Naz Reid added 19 off the bench. Reid closed the game in place of Julius Randle.
The Wolves recovered from their awful third, in which the Thunder outscored them by 20, to get as close as 106-103 in the fourth before a Gilegious-Alexander three preceded a pair of Wolves turnovers to end the night.
The Wolves’ struggling starting lineup didn’t get off to as slow of a start as it has in recent games, and the Wolves were ahead by two before Chris Finch went into his bench. With two of the top defenses in the league on the floor Tuesday, the game figured to be a rock fight, and the Wolves led 24-21 after one.
In the second quarter, the Wolves got into their bench unit with Julius Randle playing the role of facilitator, and the Wolves took a 35-28 lead while that lineup was on the floor. As the starters mixed in, the Wolves extended that to 42-30 after an Edwards stepback three. That was three of 15 first-half points Edwards, had, and the figure included three threes.
The Thunder began the game 1-for-15 from three-point range. But the Wolves weren’t much better at 4-for-17. Their defense propelled them into a 52-46 lead at halftime. Even though the Wolves held the Thunder to 40% shooting at the half, the Thunder stayed in it thanks to 11 second-chance points.
