Three Takeaways From the OKC Thunder's Saturday Night Win Over Minnesota

The Thunder played a thriller against the No. 1 team in the Western Conference on Saturday night, coming out on top in what could end up being an important matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up one of their biggest wins of the season on Saturday night, defeating the Western Conference leading Minnesota Timberwolves in a tight battle.

OKC has now taken down Minnesota twice in three tries this season, outscoring the Wolves by a total of 25 points in their trio of matchups. Led by Anthony Edwards, Minnesota will have a chance to even the series with the Thunder in a little over a week.

With their big-time win over the Timberwolves, Oklahoma City remains at second place in the Western Conference, sitting just one game behind first place. 

Here are three takeaways from the Thunder's victory over Minnesota.

Oklahoma City can win ugly games

The Thunder have been one of the best shooting teams in the NBA so far this year, ranking second in the league in 3-point percentage and field goal percentage.

Midway through the 2023-24 season, OKC is hitting over 50% of its shots from the floor and over 39% of its attempts from beyond the arc. 

Against the Timberwolves, however, the team was able to win a tough, ugly game with its defensive effort. 

As a team, Oklahoma City shot 39.5% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range on Saturday night while Minnesota shot 41.7% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc.

Still, the Thunder were able to overcome their shooting struggles by playing incredible team defense down the stretch, holding the Wolves to just 14 points in the final frame. 

OKC made up for its poor shooting performance by turning the ball over just eight times and forcing Minnesota into 21 turnovers in their most recent matchup. 

Despite a tough schedule in January, OKC keep pace with any team in the NBA

The Thunder came into Saturday's matchup with a 5-4 record over its past nine games. 

After an extremely impressive stretch in December and early January, a packed schedule began to wear on Oklahoma City as the team played eight games in six different cities over the past 13 days. 

Despite tough games against the Lakers and Clippers, OKC was still able to rebound and win their next two games in a row, including Saturday's comeback win over Minnesota. 

While the team has looked tired at certain points throughout the back half of its busy January schedule, the Thunder are still able to compete with and knock off some of the best teams in the NBA.

Oklahoma City's gauntlet is still not over yet, with Mark Daigneault's team still set to face New Orleans, Denver and Minnesota again before the month ends.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to prove he is a serious MVP candidate

While the Thunder as a whole did not have a standout offensive performance against the Timberwolves on Saturday night, superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another solid outing. 

After going for 31 points, six rebounds and six assists in OKC's victory over the Jazz, SGA notched 33 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals against Minnesota. 

This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points, 6.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 54.9% from the floor and 89.3% from the free throw line. 

In addition to his gaudy stats, the reigning All-NBA selection has helped lead the Thunder on an incredible run that has helped one of the youngest teams in the NBA maintain a top three seed in the Western Conference.

According to FanDuel SportsBook, Gilgeous-Alexander currently has the third-best odds to win NBA MVP at +360. Only Joel Embiid at +190 and Nikola Jokic at +240 sit above Oklahoma City's star guard. 

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