Thunder Trounced by Timberwolves in Mark Daigneault's Return

With the return of Head Coach Mark Daigneault, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

With Mark Daigneault returning to the sidelines, the Oklahoma City Thunder faltered to the Minnesota Timberwolves, losing 135-105.

Following the conclusion of play, the Thunder hold a 13-25 record.

The first quarter saw both sides teeter between the lead. Following an opening 4-0 Thunder lead, 10 lead changes became the story of the frame as with a slew of altering strikes – the Timberwolves staked upon a 32-28 lead, headlined by 17 points from sophomore Anthony Edwards.

Back-and-forth strikes permeated into the second frame, however, a mid quarter 10-4 Minnesota run froze Oklahoma City into a double-digit deficit. The Timberwolves’ continued to bite at the Thunder as play progressed, hitting the halftime horn with a 73-57 lead off a 20-9 run.

Through two minutes, Minnesota snowballed their margin to 20 points, setting a new bar in the process. Though the Thunder rattled off multiple counterattacks, the Timberwolves overpowered the opposition, heading into the fourth up 103-80.

The Timberwolves’ prior lead proved to be too much for the Thunder, building the lead to 41 at its highest, and finishing the night with a 30-point victory.

Minnesota’s trifecta of stars headlined in the contest, as with three members posting major scoring outputs in D’Angelo Russell (27 points), Anthony Edwards (24 points), and Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points.)

Lu Dort stemmed a three-level palate on Friday, rounding out his 27 minutes with 18 points, three rebounds, and one assist. In the guard’s tenure, he tapped back to the perimeter for a 3-of-7 showing while also slithered to the line for a 5-of-6 clip.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leaned into his interior game versus the Timberwolves, pouring upon 12 points and six assists in 28 minutes. SGA struggled from distance going a blank 0-of-3, though the 23-year-old made some strides at the line drilling 4-of-5 attempts.

Following a dull return from health-and-safety, Tre Mann ramped up his play in Minnesota, dousing out 10 points in 21 minutes off of the bench. Mann’s passing ability was thrown on the back-burner Friday with two assists, though, he made up for it as a shot creator.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will continue their home-stand Sunday to take on the Denver Nuggets.

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