OKLAHOMA CITY — There was a moment Friday night the Timberwolves bench was so unstoppable, Oklahoma City tried playing seven-on-five.
During a fast break in the third quarter, two of the arena personnel charged with cleaning the floor were out near the free-throw line as Jordan McLaughlin was racing down the court for what otherwise would've been an easy layup.
The Wolves didn't score on that play, and there was no call from the officials, but it did nothing to derail the night the reserves had in a 138-101 victory over Oklahoma City.
There were moments this season Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said the staff was worried about the team's depth.
"We just didn't have enough guys playing well off our bench," Finch said.
Over the last few months, they have sometimes had too many. On Friday the bench helped the Wolves establish a lead in the second quarter and then put Oklahoma City away in the second half with a dominant performance. Naz Reid scored 20 points on 8-for-8 shooting, Taurean Prince continued his strong second half with 18 points as the unit of Prince, Reid, Malik Beasley (15 points), McLaughlin and D'Angelo Russell, the lone starter of the bunch, did the most damage.
The Wolves bench outscored Oklahoma City's 74-18.
They made sure there was no chance for the basement-dwelling Thunder to pull off an upset like it did against Denver on Wednesday.
In the first quarter, Oklahoma City showed how its scrappiness was able to get a win over a favored opponent like the Nuggets
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33 points) was a handful to guard and he broke down the Wolves defense. He scored 13 points in the first as the Thunder and Wolves played tug of war with the lead in the first 12 minutes and the Wolves trailed 34-32.
The bench took over in the second quarter. The Thunder came into the game with several players out, including Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey, and in a matchup like this, depth can provide separation on the scoreboard. Prince found success attacking the rim while Reid got buckets inside. Russell, who often mixes in with the reserves, had nine in the quarter as the Wolves pushed their lead to double digits for the first time. It would stay there the remainder of the quarter. The Wolves had one of their most efficient quarters of the season in the second: 45 points on 16-for-22 shooting, 8-for-10 shooting from 3-point range. The 45 points marked the second most in a second quarter in Wolves history and they led 77-60 at halftime.
The third quarter repeated the start for the Wolves, who couldn't extend the lead into the 20s and allowed Oklahoma City to get as close as 83-74 with 7 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the third.
To rectify that, Finch went to his bench a little earlier than he might otherwise in the third, inserting Beasley and Prince into the game. Prince picked up where he left off in the first half with 10 third-quarter points. He also got to the lineup of Russell and the bench unit by the end of the third quarter. Reid hit all six of his field-goal attempts through three quarters for 13 points.
Despite getting the Wolves lead back into single digits, the Thunder never didn't get much closer than that to close the quarter. The Wolves extended their lead to a game-high 21, 108-87 by the end of the third quarter.
With the Wolves playing again Saturday in Minneapolis, Finch was able to let his starters and bench relax in the fourth, just as the bench has made him relax more as the season gets older.
