OKLAHOMA CITY — With two minutes left in a tight contest, Anthony Edwards blew past Jalen Williams and soared for the one-handed jam to serve as the exclamation mark.
The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t secure a critical game as they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 107-101. The season series ends at two apiece.
“Both teams played really hard,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “I thought the way we defended, rebounded, competed on the glass, really gave us a great chance throughout the game. Even when we went through some offensive droughts…
“Credit them, I thought they outplayed us in the fourth. Made some timely plays. But we weren’t short on effort or energy tonight.”
The matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference standings lived up to the hype as the close, back-and-forth contest resembled a playoff atmosphere with 24 lead changes and six ties.
“Those are the games you want to be a part of,” Aaron Wiggins said. “Atmosphere was great, crowd was loud. You could feel that there’s a competitive nature on the court.”
The Timberwolves held a 29-28 lead following the first quarter. A 20-19 second-quarter advantage by Minnesota saw it enter halftime holding a 49-47 lead.
Out of the break, the Thunder’s 30-point third quarter helped overcome their deficit and entered the final frame holding a 77-73 lead. Five quick points by Minnesota to start the fourth quarter suddenly saw OKC trailing.
Both teams exchanged baskets the rest of the way before the Timberwolves started to create distance on the scoreboard with an 11-2 run during the final two-and-a-half minutes. In the end, the Thunder were outscored, 34-24, in the final frame as they couldn’t close out the pivotal home contest.
The Thunder shot 44% from the field and went 14-of-35 (40%) from 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 37 points and eight assists while Williams had 20 points.
Outside of those two though, the rest of the Thunder starters struggled with a combined 19 points on 27% shooting. OKC was outscored by Minnesota inside of the paint, 46-34.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves shot 48% from the field and went 14-of-29 (48.3%) from 3. Six players scored double-digit points — including all five of their starters.
Edwards led the way with 27 points, four assists and four rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 18 rebounds.
“I thought top to bottom, they really competed,” Daigneault said on the Timberwolves. “I thought they did a good job at changing defenses in the first half and keeping us off balance.
“I thought they competed on that end of the floor and I thought we did too. It was two really competitive teams competing hard in the game and they obviously made a few more plays than we did.”
Kenrich Williams added: “It was a very intense game, a very physical game. They’re a great team, very good team in this league. You got to tip your hat to them.”
It appears January’s busy schedule might be catching up to the Thunder. They’ve dropped both games of this back-to-back and the depreciation is starting to add up for OKC despite its youth.
“It’s hard just getting adjusted to,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on OKC’s grueling schedule. “Now, with that being said, the NBA doesn’t care. Your opponents don’t care. Nobody cares. You’ve got to fight through it and get it done.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Facing the best defensive-rated team, Gilgeous-Alexander had no problem looking like the best player on the court.
In 39 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points on 10-of-18 shooting, eight assists and seven rebounds. He went 15-of-16 from the free-throw line.
The Timberwolves had no answer for Gilgeous-Alexander. When he attacked the paint, it mostly garnered success. He had no issue gliding past Minnesota’s large and lenghty frontcourt.
Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a hot start with 11 points in the first quarter. He proceeded to score an additional 12 points in the third frame.
With OKC’s second unit letting go of the rope, Daigneault broke away from his traditional rotation and checked his All-Star starter back in with a little under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“It just felt like one of those games that was a possession game,” Daigneault said on his decision to play Gilgeous-Alexander early. “I try to be wise in terms of how I manage everybody’s minutes throughout a course of the season. It gives you the space to hit the gas on certain nights.”
Despite his best efforts, Gilgeous-Alexander couldn’t single-handedly lead OKC to a win with 12 points in the fourth quarter. The loss served as a nice barometer to check how the Thunder stacked up against a fellow contender.
“They’re one of the better teams in the league clearly,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on facing the Timberwolves. “We’ve viewed ourselves as that and there’s no other way to really find out who you are — in the heat of the moment, in the heat of the battle, when it matters most — than playing against the best.”
Just when you thought there was no way….there’s SGA 😤 pic.twitter.com/VQ7uS1REvq
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 30, 2024
Oh my, Shai 🤢#ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/H9UVMHOmIj
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 30, 2024
Shai from the Corner 👌@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/Wc6Xzy6CGr
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 30, 2024
.@shaiglalex with the deposit after hours 🏧 pic.twitter.com/qrFuA4gyI2
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 30, 2024
SHAI STEP-BACK. LET HIM COOK.@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/kDEha5siW9
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 30, 2024
Drivin’ fast in downtown OKC 🏎️ pic.twitter.com/FiAIxwg1TP
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 30, 2024
Jalen Williams: B
Desperately needing a second scorer, Williams served in the role well. As OKC attempted to come back, he hit some timely buckets to rally the crowd.
In 33 minutes, Williams finished with 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting, three assists and two rebounds. He shot 4-of-7 from 3.
The 22-year-old tallied eight points in the third quarter including a pair of massive 3-pointers to send the crowd berserk. His first 3-pointer gave OKC the lead and his second was in the final seconds to enter the final frame with a four-point advantage.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, Williams suffered an ankle injury with a little over a minute left in the contest. He was in visible pain as OKC was forced to foul to check him out.
After initially looking over his injury on the bench, Williams hobbled back into the locker room on one leg before the contest ended. After the game, Daigneault said there was no update on him.
If Williams misses significant time, it’ll be a huge blow for OKC. The second-year wing has blossomed this season as the Thunder’s second-best scorer. His absence would be loud.
SGA 🤝 Dub pic.twitter.com/metaLpId64
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 30, 2024
Charged up on the 11-0 Thunder run ⚡️@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/mzUVOrTTOX
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 30, 2024
Dub ends the 3rd on a high note 🎯#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/4jZWIZKNbd
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 30, 2024
Chet Holmgren: C-minus
It appears Holmgren has hit a rookie wall. The 21-year-old has played in every game this season, which has resulted in him taking a toll in this busy January.
The seven-footer has reached a point in the season where he’s never played this many games before and it’s starting to wear him down on both sides of the floor.
Against the Timberwolves, he had four points on 2-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds and three blocks in 32 minutes.
Holmgren struggled to limit Gobert, who had a monster night on the boards. Minnesota had no issue getting to the paint and creating quality looks. On the offensive side, he looked hesitant with the ball in his hands.
“He’s a competitor,” Daigneault said on if Holmgren’s feeling fatigued. “He obviously didn’t have his best game tonight but I’d never make assumptions about something like that.”
HOLMGREN REJECTS KAT ON THE FIRST SHOT OF THE GAME.@okcthunder #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/KQpp4uInuN
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 30, 2024
.@ChetHolmgren says N🚫 pic.twitter.com/EFT2UcqXNJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 30, 2024
Josh Giddey: D
Just like in the Detroit Pistons’ loss, Giddey had a nice box score of 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-7 from 3.
The problem is that the Timberwolves welcome Giddey to have the ball and they exploited his presence when he was on the court. This explains his game-worst negative-17 plus-minus and only playing in 19 minutes — including just seven in the second half.
When only two of the Thunder’s starters bring it, it’s going to be hard to overcome that deficiency most nights — especially against one of the best teams in the league.
Early ball movement 👌 pic.twitter.com/xpPrvrOFUV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 30, 2024
