The OKC Thunder Defeat Minnesota (102-97) In A Battle Of The Best In The West

The OKC Thunder Defeat Minnesota (102-97) In A Battle Of The Best In The West

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by | Jan 21, 2024 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

The Oklahoma City thunder came in the Minnesota for a battle between the first place and second place teams in the Western Conference. Coming into this game. It was going to be a showdown between Shai Gilgeous, Alexander and Anthony Edwards. Both are in the top five shooting guards in the NBA today. Both teams are hungry and want to be able to prove that they deserve to be at the top of the Western Conference and this was a true test for both teams, regardless of who came out on top.

The Thunder came out first and punched Minnesota in the mouth as they came out with a lot of energy and they were able to make a lot of early buckets in this game. The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to get to the spots as a collective unit and made it tough on the Timberwolves in the first quarter. The Thunder got to every loose ball and they seem like they got every rebound in the first half. Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight as he had a game high of 33 points and he added 2 rebounds with 6 assists. The Thunder were able to play through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight as he made some tough shots down the stretch over the Minnesota Defense. Tonight was the opportunity for SGA to put the team on his back and he did that for Oklahoma City. The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t have an answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when it came to him getting to the line for free throws. SGA was getting those MVP like calls and was able to make them pay at the line. SGA made some tough buckets that had every watching in amazement. The Thunder played as a unit and even Chet Holmgren made it tough on Rudy Gobert as it looked like every time he was going for the lob he was denied by the rookie.

The Minnesota Timberwolves came out the gate with Naz Reid hitting some big shots that were able to keep them in the game. Anthony, I was said that Naz Reid the energy that night and he was able to redo that energy tonight as he finished with 18 points. The Minnesota Timberwolves only had four players in double figures, and it still came down to three points at the end of the game where Anthony Edwards missed a couple of free throwing that could’ve forced things to overtime.

Both teams are 1 & 2 in the West and it would be special to see them in the WCF.

 

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Jan 21, 2024 No Comments
Rudy Gobert & The Minnesota Timberwolves Defeated Portland (116-93)

Rudy Gobert & The Minnesota Timberwolves Defeated Portland (116-93)

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by | Jan 12, 2024 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

The Portland Trail Blazers are coming into this game against the Minnesota Timberwolves following a back to back where they lost by 62. The Timberwolves played a tough game in Boston without Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert.

Tonight Rudy Gobert reminded everyone how dominant he can be in the paint. Rudy was able to set the tone in this game against Portland as he grabbed rebound after rebound and had about 5 slam dunks. The best dunk of the night from Rudy came from the lob from Anthony Edwards where he had to reach way back to get it. The crowd and his teammates went crazy for that. On the night Rudy Gobert finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns had himself a nasty dunk as well on Badji that was crazy. KAT has been aggressive to the paint on this stretch of games and it has put the Wolves in a great position. KAT has been special inside and out and tonight he was able to put that on full display against a Portland team that had no answer for the big men without Ayton.

Naz Reid was able to lead the bench in scoring with 14 points and he was an instant offense boost tonight. It was clear that the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have an answer for the bigs of Minnesota tonight. The great thing about this win was the fact that Anthony Edwards was able to just be in full playmaker mode as he only took 9 shots and finished with 9 points. When your best player only has 9 points and you were up by 36 points at one point thats very impressive.

The Portland Trail Blazers are a young team and they have some time to grow as a unit. They had a couple of bright spots tonight like Simons, Henderson, Camara, and Reath. The Timberwolves have been on a mission all year and Portland ran into Minnesota’s get right game. The leading scorer for the Portland Trail Blazers was Reath he was able to make some good plays in the paint but the Timberwolves slowed down Simons/Henderson on the night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be facing the LA Clippers next as the Clips are coming in winning 17 of the last 20 games. It should make for a serious Western Conference matchup in Minnesota on Sunday. Look for Paul George and Anthony Edwards to duel it out together.

 

Photo Credit: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images

Jan 12, 2024 No Comments
The Minnesota Timberwolves Fall To Zion & The Pelicans (117-106)

The Minnesota Timberwolves Fall To Zion & The Pelicans (117-106)

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by | Jan 3, 2024 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

tonight would be the fourth meeting between the New Orleans pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves. This also gave the Minnesota Timberwolves fans a chance to finally watch Zion Williamson in person this season. Both teams match up perfectly against each other in tonight was another clear indication of that.

The game started out, neck and neck as the pelicans and Timberwolves were going shot for shot. It wasn’t until Rudy. Gobert got into foul trouble when things started to change for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Once Rudy Opia picked up two files, the pelicans made a point to attack the paint and both Zion, Williamson, and Brandon Ingram took full advantage of that tonight. Once Rudy Gobert was taken out the game early. It forced Minnesota to go smaller when they put Naz Reid in the game. Naz Reid does complement playing alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, but it just didn’t work out on the defensive end tonight.

The Minnesota Timberwolves did a good job defending Brandon Ingram as he was trying to make tough shots all night long and he finished with 19 points on the night. The biggest problem for Minnesota was Zion Williamson was going to the paint and attacking the defenders that were in foul trouble. Once Zion made his decision to go to the rack, it was tough for the Minnesota defense, because when Zion attacked the paint, he drew the defense in and kicked it out to wide-open shooters like CJ McCollum, who are able to take advantage. Zion Williamson finished with 27 points and he was able to bully inside the paint all night long without Rudy Gobert there to help anchor the interior defense. If Rudy Gobert wasn’t in foul trouble, this game would’ve went a lot differently in my opinion but it’s tough to take away a defensive player of the year and try to replace that against the talented Pelicans team.

It seems like every single time the Timberwolves were making a run that CJ McCollum or Brandon Ingram made a tough shot that was contested, and there was nothing that can be done about it. The pelicans have some tough shot makers on the team and so do the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight was just the pelicans night. Can’t do much about it, but shake a man’s hand and say good shot.

The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t go away quietly, as Anthony Edwards finished with 35 points on the night with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Anthony Edwards was able to turn it up in the second half but the lack of stops on the other end made it tough to come out with a victory. The Pelicans didn’t beat Anthony Edwards tonight he was 11/22 from the field and just didn’t get the calls that he’s accustomed to getting. Karl-Anthony Towns had an off night as well and was able to see his shot go down in the 2nd half. This Timberwolves team is talented and loaded enough to hand with any team but tonight just wasn’t the night.

The Timberwolves will be looking a bounce back against the Houston Rockets on Friday as they look for their 25th win of the season.

 

 

Photo Credit: (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)

Jan 3, 2024 No Comments
Minnesota Timberwolves Defeated The LA Lakers (108-106) In A Nail Biter

Minnesota Timberwolves Defeated The LA Lakers (108-106) In A Nail Biter

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by | Dec 31, 2023 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

The Minnesota Timberwolves came in today’s game no and it was a huge Saturday night match up against LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Today, LeBron turned 39 years old and this season alone, shows that the age hasn’t caught up to him.

LeBron was questionable coming into tonight’s game as he wasn’t feeling well, but ended up shooting up in front of the Minnesota crowd. The target center was filled with purple and gold for the Lakers but it was the Timberwolves fans who had the last laugh as Anthony Edwards showed why he’s one of the best young stars in the NBA.

It’ll be another star, Anthony Davis who came out putting the Lakers on his back as the first quarter he was able to get every single thing he wanted inside and out the paint. Anthony, I was able to be aggressive to the point that Karl-Anthony Towns got into foul trouble. The Lakers took advantage of the foul trouble with Karl-Anthony Towns as they continue to pound the paint and make the best of the perimeter defense. Anthony Davis finished the first quarter with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Anthony Davis was a force tonight, and it seemed like he was able to get to all of his spots with ease. Rudy Gobert did a great job on him with some of the shots that Anthony Davis was making were unreal. When Anthony Davis plays like he did tonight, he’s easily one of the top five or top 10 players in the NBA with no hesitation. The way that Anthony Davis can playoff LeBron and Austin Reaves is impressive and it was a sight to see.

 

Anthony Davis finished the game with 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 assists but After the first quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to make adjustments to slowing down a little bit. In the second half the birthday boy, LeBron James showed up as he was able to get his teammates involved and he was able to penetrate to the basket anytime you wanted tonight. LeBron finished with 26 points but in his eyes, it should’ve been 27 as he had a chance to tie the game up after the Timberwolves were up by seven points with less than a minute ago. The Timberwolves made some mental errors that could’ve cost of the game luckily, LeBron’s shot was called into instead of a three, or we still would’ve been playing in overtime probably right now.

The highlight for the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight was Anthony Edwards, as he’s continue to shine bright like the star he is. Anthony hours finished with 31 points tonight and he was able to put the Timberwolves on his back, making some tough shots in attack in the basket when the team needed points to stick around. This game was neck and neck, but it was a true test for Anthony Edwards as he showed everyone that he’s ready for the clutch moments and he’s ready to take on any challenge in front of him.

Anthony Edwards lead the way, but the Timberwolves wouldn’t be in the wind column without Naz Reid. Tonight Naz Reid was sensational and he picked up the Timberwolves team when Karl-Anthony Towns got into foul trouble. Some of the stuff Naz Reid does in the open court is impressive and unseen from big man in the league. Naz Reid went coast-to-coast tonight on the Lakers, and finished with a euro step flush and it’s stuff like that that makes Mr. Reid special. Both Reid and Edwards put the team on the back tonight as they were able to go pound for pound with the Los Angeles Lakers. This is a true test for the Minnesota Timberwolves to see who exactly they are when it comes to playing high-quality teams.

Up Next Minnesota Timberwolves will be heading to New York to be playing the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. The next just finished the trade today sending Quickley & RJ Barrett to Toronto in exchange for OG Anunoby so the Timberwolves will get the chance to look at the new look Knicks on Monday.

 

 

Photo Credit: Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Dec 31, 2023 No Comments
The Minnesota Timberwolves 3 Big Men Lift Them To Victory Over Charlotte (123-117)

The Minnesota Timberwolves 3 Big Men Lift Them To Victory Over Charlotte (123-117)

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by | Dec 2, 2023 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

The Minnesota Timberwolves came in to Charlotte, knowing that they would be playing without Anthony Edwards as he’s nursing her hip pointer. With that being said, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gobert being the veterans on the team, would have to step it up. There’s a lot of opportunity for the team to grow with Anthony Edwards out and that will only help the rotation, even more when he gets back.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to establish themselves in the half court defense against the Charlotte Hornets. It was the fast break points that will give him the Minnesota Timberwolves a hard time in this game. Players like Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges were able to get whatever they needed and wanted in transition against the Timberwolves in that first half. It didn’t help that Karl-Anthony towns got into foul trouble as he picked up three huge fouls that had Coach Chris Finch go to Naz Reid early in this one. Naz Reid was instant offense tonight, as he did everything inside and outside against the Charlotte Hornets to the point he was able to exploit mismatches. Naz finished with 23 points, five rebounds and 2 assists. When Naz is playing like he did tonight this Timberwolves team is really hard to beat. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists as he was able to keep the Timberwolves in this game with his scoring and leadership.

When the Hornets went on some runs it was KAT that was able to come back in the game and put a stop to that asap. Rudy Gobert was a beast in the paint tonight as he was able to score 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds tonight. Rudy had 8 dunks tonight making that the most he’s ever had with the Timberwolves but his defense is where he shined tonight. He was blocking shots left and right while being a true defensive anchor. The Hornets didn’t have an answer for Rudy down low as he had his way with Mark Williams.

Terry Rozier got hot in this game and he was able to make some tough baskets in this one to keep the Hornets alive. Rozier has been on a tear since coming back from his injury and he put on a show for the home crowd but it wasn’t enough to get the win. Rozier finished with 23 points and Miles Bridges finished with 22 points tonight.

Up Next, the Minnesota Timberwolves play against the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama. It should be a great game in Minnesota as the Timberwolves will look to improve to 16-4 in front of the home crowd.

 

(Photo by Matt Kelley/Getty Images)

 

Dec 2, 2023 No Comments