The Timberwolves are coming off a tough loss to the Utah Jazz in Minnesota. Tonight they were looking to get back into the winning column in OKC. The OKC Thunder were coming into this contest against the Timberwolves without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Hip). Right from the start Minnesota was aggressive and imposed its will in the paint. Both Gobert and Towns were dominating the paint as the Thunder had no answer for them. The Timberwolves realized that they have a mismatch in the paint and took advantage of the lack of size with the Thunder.
Towns was able to beat them inside and out offensively and Rudy added to it defensively as well. On the night Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points, 5 assists, and 8 rebounds on the evening. His counterpart in the paint Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 15 rebounds tonight. People have wondered how this tandem would look and they both have put the league on notice. Towns have the perfect style to play alongside Rudy Gobert as he’s been connecting with him on alley-oops with ease. Both of the bigs have been able to make an instant impact in the paint and it will be tough for teams to get in there against Minnesota.
The Thunder struggled in that first half and it wasn’t until close to halftime that they started to make a comeback in the game. Lu Dort came to play on both sides of the ball and he was able to get his offense going tonight as he was the only real bright spot for the Thunder. Lu Dort finished with 20 points and he will look to continue to be that leader for this young core. The Thunder have a bright future and it shined bright in the first half with Josh Giddey as he finished with 10 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds before injuring his ankle. It seemed like it was tough for the Thunder to get back after losing Giddey.
In the second half, the Timberwolves adjusted and went to the small ball lineup and it worked perfectly. Anthony Edwards finished the game with 30 points, 3 assists, and 11 rebounds as he was in his bag. There was nothing that Edwards couldn’t do to the Thunder as he was able to score when he wanted with ease. Edwards showed his arsenal tonight as he was scoring with the Euro-Step, Stepback, and Fadeaways. It was pretty much the Ant Show all night as the small ball lineup was able to get Towns/Gobert/Russell some well deserved rest knowing that they play the Spurs tomorrow. Edwards is a bright and up-and-coming star in the NBA and you can see the work he put in during the offseason.
The Timberwolves bench was able to produce 3 double-digit scorers tonight as Nowell, Prince, and Reid combined for 39 points. Naz Reid has been showing that he’s earned some extended minutes and came to play and Nowell has been looking at that 6th Man of the Year Award already.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will look to keep this going as they play the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow at home.
Photo Credit – Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
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