Wolves have no answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in loss to Thunder
The Timberwolves have taken their place atop the Western Conference standings largely behind their NBA-best defense, so it was strange to see them in the midst of a shootout with the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
It turns out that getting into a shootout isn’t a winning formula for Minnesota.
While the Wolves made runs here and there, the Thunder pulled out a largely wire-to-wire 129-106 victory behind a fast pace of play and stellar 3-point shooting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was dominant, nearly notching a triple-double with 34 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort scored 21 and 20 points, respectively. Williams shot 4 of 6 from behind the arc, while Dort knocked down 5 of 6 from long range.
Minnehaha Academy grad and Minneapolis native Chet Holmgren had 20 points, five assists and four rebounds. He was 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
Oklahoma City made 18 3s in all Tuesday night.
"Nothing worked against them tonight, they were exceptional," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters postgame. "We went to zone, and they made a bunch of 3s. We tried to switch, we tried to stay in coverage. Not much of what we did worked tonight, so all credit to them, they were ready for everything."
The Thunder (19-9) got off to a fast start, taking a 32-23 lead with 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first quarter as they knocked down 3 after 3. The two teams kept trading 3-pointers until Anthony Edwards hit one at the first-quarter buzzer to cut their deficit to five as the Thunder took a 40-35 lead into the second frame.
Edwards led the Wolves (22-7) with 25 points and tallied seven rebounds and six assists. Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s win over Sacramento with left knee soreness. He had 16 points and six rebounds but also had five turnovers. Mike Conley finished with 17 points and four assists.
Oklahoma City pushed its lead to 11 in the second quarter, but Minnesota closed the gap with an 8-2 run, eventually going into halftime down just six despite the Thunder tearing through their defense.
"The Grinch wasn't too interested in Christmas this year, decided to steal our defense in the first half," Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori said during his halftime television interview.
The Grinch apparently wasn't ready to give it back in the second half, either.
Despite keeping things close into the half, the Wolves had no answer for Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 14 points in the third quarter as the Thunder pushed their lead back to double digits. They were up 102-91 by the end of the third quarter.
"They spread you out and they have a bunch of guys that can live in your paint, for sure that's the case," Finch said. "And when they shoot the ball the way they did tonight they're very, very hard to guard."
As the Thunder pushed their lead to 20 points in the fourth quarter, both teams emptied their benches with several minutes remaining. The Wolves had no answer for Gilgeous-Alexander or the Thunder's 3-point shooting, and they couldn't keep pace in a shootout.
Final key stats
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 34 points on 14-of-19 shooting, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
- Jalen Williams: 21 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block
- Luguentz Dort: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
- Chet Holmgren: 20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
- Anthony Edwards: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal
- Mike Conley: 17 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 turnovers (game high)
- Rudy Gobert: 10 points, 5 rebounds
