Ugliest 8 minutes of the season cost Wolves against Oklahoma City

Minnesota had 10 turnovers in the final 8:30 of the third quarter.

Dec 31, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) steals the ball away from Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

New Year's Eve in Oklahoma City could've been so much better had the Timberwolves not coughed up a 12-point lead to blow an opportunity to make a statement against the West-leading Thunder.

Mike Conley's third 3-pointer in a span of 42 seconds put Minnesota on top of the 27-5 Thunder 65-53 with 8:30 left in the third quarter, but things unraveled for the Timberwolves starting just 34 seconds later when Rudy Gobert missed a dunk and it led to a transition 3-pointer for Lu Dort.

From there, the Thunder destroyed the Wolves, outscoring Minnesota 36-9 over the final 8:30 of the third quarter and then holding on for the 113-105 win despite the Wolves cutting the lead to 106-103 with 2:03 to play in the game.

"We did the one thing we couldn't do, we turned it over at a high level," Wolves head coach Chris Finch said.

Minnesota had 10 turnovers in the final 8:30 of the third quarter.

• Julius Randle turnover

• Shot clock violation

• Julius Randle offensive foul

• Rudy Gobert bad pass

• Nickiel Alexander-Walker bad pass

• Anthony Edwards bad pass

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker turnover

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker turnover

• Donte DiVincenzo turnover

• Julius Randle steps out of bounds

Then, after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put OKC up 109-103 with a 3-pointer, DiVincenzo grabbed an offensive rebound only to turn it over with a bad pass. After holding on defense, Naz Reid was stripped from behind and Jalen Williams coasted to the other end for an uncontested layup and a 111-103 lead. That was the dagger.

"We don't turn the ball over, we can control this game. No doubt about it," Finch said.

Finch also had an interesting comment about OKC during his postgame press conference.

"They're super physical. They foul you everywhere, every time down," Finch said. "We gotta be able to play through that and fight through it."

The Thunder were called for just 13 personal fouls compared to 18 whistles on Minnesota. The result was the Wolves going to the free-throw line 12 times compared to 23 attempts for Oklahoma City.