The Oklahoma City Thunder battled back against the Minnesota Timberwolves but ultimately fell 116-101. OKC trailed at halftime for the second consecutive game and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled offensively. Despite a strong third quarter, the Thunder's shooting woes in the fourth quarter sealed their fate. Rookie guard Terrence Shannon Jr. and former Kentucky standout Rob Dillingham contributed significantly off the bench for Minnesota.
In a similar fashion to the Oklahoma City Thunder's first side of a back-to-back stretch of games, the Thunder were forced to embark on a comeback against the Minnesota Timberwolves . That comeback didn't come anywhere close to what happened against Miami, and OKC lost 116-101.
For the second game in a row, OKC trailed at the end of the first half. Minnesota led 64-56 after the first two quarters of the game, again leaving the team with the best record in the NBA trailing at halftime. A major difference between the back-to-back games was the start Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got off to. He went 2-for-13 in the first half while scoring 11 points. His 6-for-6 free throw efficiency made up the bulk of his scoring. OKC trailed by as much as 17 points in the first half, and Minnesota's three best players began to take over. Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid all got off to quick starts. Rookie guard Terrence Shannon Jr. also gave the Timberwolves some solid bench production, ending the half with 13 points. It didn't take long for the Thunder to work into the Minnesota lead to kick off the second half. Buckets from Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein helped the Thunder to tie the game. As the quarter progressed, Gilgeous-Alexander really struggled to put points on the board outside of the free-throw line. He finished with 24 points on 6-for-21 shooting, Jalen Williams acted as a much more efficient medium of scoring, ending the game with 20 points on 8-for-17 shooting. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, who's been struggling recently, scored 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting. He also grabbed 12 rebounds. Despite the eventual defeat, Hartenstein had a much-needed good performance. Through three quarters, the Thunder did a better job shooting the ball from the outside. They went 6-for-17 in the first three periods of the game, seemingly much better compared to its win the day before against the Miami Heat. Minnesota still led 97-87 at the end of the third quarter despite the improvements from OKC. In the opposite fashion of its prior game, the perimeter shooting stumbled in the fourth quarter. They ended up shooting 7-for-29 from outside, a poor final showing in a game the Thunder would have liked to win. For Minnesota, the bench contributions from its rookies were super impactful. Shannon and former Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham finished with the best plus-minus rating of anyone on the team. Dillingham finished with a plus-18 rating and Shannon plus-23. They didn't lead in the scoring column or any other major stats and plus-minus can be misleading, but the two still helped Minnesota to an important win. Chet Holmgren, in only his third game back from injury, continued to struggle against Minnesota. He finished with 11 points on 3-for-7 shooting as he continues to get conditioned and mold into OKC's play style. He did grab 12 rebounds, however. The Timberwolves extended its lead in the fourth quarter, burying the Thunder and preparing to hand them its 10th loss of the season. Reid led the way in scoring for the Timberwolves, scoring 27 points. Edwards followed suit with 23, with McDaniels right behind him with 21. Oklahoma City gets an eight-day break, including All-Star weekend and will travel to Utah to face the Jazz at 8:30 p.m. MST on Friday, Feb. 23.Michael is a sophomore from Papillion, NE who is currently a student at the University of Missouri studying journalism. He covers the university’s football program at Missouri Tigers on SI and is the co-sports editor for The Maneater, the student publication for the university.
NBA OKC Thunder Minnesota Timberwolves Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Terrence Shannon Jr.
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