The Timberwolves you Minnesota 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 straight games since the first day of December.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outplayed Anthony Edwards to lead the Thunder to a 113-105 victory. SGA finished with 40 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals on 15-of-23 shooting. Edwards had just 20 points and took just 12 shots as the Timberwolves' four-game winning streak was ended. interrupted.
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
Timber wolves
Players SPT CER AST STL BLACK AT MINIMUM PF FG 3 points 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 Inglés DNP Daishen Nix DNP Terrence Shannon Jr. DNP
Thunder
Players SPT CER AST STL BLACK AT MINIMUM PF FG 3 points FT +/- Jalen Williams 14 7 7 3 0 3 3 37 6-12 1-4 1-4 -12 Isaïe Hartenstein 15 10 4 1 2 0 1 32 5-10 0-1 5-5 11 Shai Gilgeous-Alexandre 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 OKC Thunder's stout defense kept it close. Julius Randle was making his way to the post, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was giving the Timberwolves perimeter guys problems.
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 trailed 24-21 at the start of the second quarter.
Edwards took control of the game in the second half, scoring 13 points to extend the Timberwolves' lead. They were up by as many as 12 points midway through the period, but the Thunder weren't going to let the fans in attendance down. They managed to cut it to six at halftime, with the score 52-46.
In the third quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander completely took control of the game to put the OKC Thunder in total control. SGA put up 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 come back in the final quarter, but the Thunder did too much damage. Anthony Edwards was not aggressive and the team simply had too many turnovers. Oklahoma City had all the answers to hold on for the 113-105 victory.
It was the Thunder's 12th straight victory, ending 2024 on a high note to improve to 27-5 for the season. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, fell to 17-15. They still occupy eighth place in the Western Conference standings ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns.
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Edited by Juan Paolo David
