Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves routed by Thunder

The Timberwolves were dominated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in their Friday night nationally-televised game by a score of 113-93.

The Thunder controlled the game from start to finish, with Russell Westbrook racking up a triple-double in just 27 minutes. He and Kevin Durant – who had 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists of his own – didn’t appear in the fourth quarter as the game was well in hand by that point.

Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 25 points, but outside of Shabazz Muhammad (15 points and four rebounds) and Nikola Pekovic (10 points and three rebounds in just 18 minutes), nobody played well in any sense of the word for the Wolves.

As a team, the Wolves shot just 40 percent from the field, and that poor shooting started immediately in the first quarter. Through the opening eight minutes of the game, the Wolves were an embarrassing 3 for 17 from the field and also threw in a shot clock violation for good measure. After the first quarter, the Thunder were leading 31-17.

The Wolves showed some life in the second quarter, with Muhammad posterizing Durant on a fastbreak as part of an 8-0 run that cut the lead down to 8 points with 3:00 minutes remaining in the half. The Thunder pushed out the lead a bit more to close the half and led 57-43 as the second quarter buzzer sounded.

After the Wolves made a small push to begin the third, the Thunder went on a 12-2 run in a 4-minute span to take a commanding 75-54 lead. Westbrook collected his 10th assist to complete his triple-double with a nice half-court alley-oop as part of that run.

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The Wolves made a final attempt to get back in the game by using a 17-5 run to cut the lead to 13 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder reserves were able to close it out without Westbrook or Durant reentering the game. Despite the final deficit of 20 points, the game never felt completely out of reach for the Wolves until the final few minutes of the contest.

The Timberwolves made the same number of three-pointers as the Thunder did (five), but they took nearly half as many attempts as the Thunder (12 for the Wolves to 23 for the Thunder). The Thunder realize that the three is an essential part of the NBA today, but the Wolves still fail to utilize it.

There was a sequence in the second quarter where Muhammad received a kick-out pass for an open three, but opted to drive instead and threw up a bad layup off the glass. The Thunder got a fast break as a result and hit Anthony Morrow on the wing for a three point attempt. Morrow missed that three, but that quick sequence shows the philosophy difference between one of the top teams in the league and the Wolves right now.

In the end, it wasn’t necessarily a lack of threes that did the Wolves in, but when they are consistently losing games by double digits in the second half, it would be a good idea to try to get back in the game with shots that are worth three points versus contested mid-range jumpers.

Tweet of the Night

Star of the Night

Russell Westbrook – 12 points (6-10 FG, 0-1 3P), 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers

Westbrook didn’t have a huge triple-double like he has had in the past, but the damage he did in 27 minutes was enough to earn him this spot. He brought the fire right from the beginning for the Thunder and it was just too much for the Wolves to handle.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

Andrew Wiggins – 25 points (10-22 FG, 0-1 3P, 5-5 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

Karl-Anthony Towns – 9 points (4-13 FG, 0-2 3P, 1-1 FT), 12 rebounds, 1 assist

Zach LaVine – 13 points (5-9 FG, 1-1 3P, 2-3 FT), 6 rebounds

Who’s Next?

The Timberwolves will take on the Phoenix Suns on Sunday in a matinee game at the Target Center. The Suns have lost 12 of their last 13 after getting routed by the Boston Celtics tonight, so the Wolves may be able to end their losing streak of 9 this weekend.

Eric Bledsoe is out for the Suns, so they signed former Timberwolves point guard Lorenzo Brown to take his place. Brown was a solid role player for the Wolves, and hopefully he gets a warm welcome from the fans come Sunday.

Next: What Do the Timberwolves Need From Nikola Pekovic?

The Wolves have been playing better basketball in these last few games, but it has come against some mighty competition. Hopefully their level of play stays high and they can get a win on Sunday.