Neither of the Timberwolves' twin towers were available, nor were the top two point guards.
The Wolves opened their game Friday at Oklahoma City with an injury report that read like a novel.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Jordan McLaughlin and Taurean Prince were already out. In the runup to the game Rudy Gobert (ankle) and D'Angelo Russell (knee) joined them.
Hoping an influx of fresh legs and youthful enthusiasm would carry the day, coach Chris Finch pushed Naz Reid and Austin Rivers into the starting lineup and Bryn Forbes, Wendell Moore, Jr. and Nathan Knight into the rotation.
In a thrilling, gutty 112-110 victory, it worked.
The Wolves showed energy, enthusiasm and resilience.
The latter was the most important. The Wolves were up 14 late in the third quarter before things, for a time, fell apart. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 23 of his 35 points in the quarter, the Thunder outscored the Wolves 21-4 over the final 4-plus minutes of the third, going from 14 down to three up entering the fourth.
But the Wolves rallied. They led for much of the fourth quarter and took control for good on Anthony Edwards' 3-pointer with 11.8 seconds left. The Thunder didn't go away, pulling within two with 7.2 seconds left.
Fouled, Reid hit one of two free throws with 4.9 seconds left. Gilgeous-Alexander made one of two free throws with 3.4 seconds left to make it a two-point game but that's as close as they got.
Doing a splendid job of sharing the ball and the opportunities, the Wolves had six players score in double figures. Reid had 28 points and nine boards. Edwards had 19 points, 11 boards and seven assists. Rivers scored 20. Jaylen Nowell (13) and Knight (10) were in double figures off the bench.
That was enough for the Wolves (14-15) to snap a three-game losing streak while handing the Thunder (11-18) their fifth consecutive loss.
Gilgeous-Alexander's 34 points were a game high.
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The Star Tribune did not send the author of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
