Timberwolves Wrap: Wiggins beats Thunder at the buzzer

The Timberwolves led most of the way before falling behind late and needing an Andrew Wiggins buzzer-beater from the center-court logo to defeat the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

After an impressive home win against the Utah Jazz on Friday night, the Timberwolves played what was their most complete game of the season in Oklahoma City on Sunday, culminating in a dramatic win.

The Wolves finally clicked on offense for virtually an entire game. Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns led the scoring with 27 points apiece with Jeff Teague pitching in 19 points and Jimmy Butler putting up 15 as well.

The defense was spotty, although the Wolves did a decent enough job contesting 3-point attempts by the Thunder (11-of-31, 35.5 percent) while fouling minimally (the Thunder attempted 16 free throws on the night while the Wolves shot 23 freebies) on forays to the rim by Russell Westbrook and others.

Towns continued to struggle with his jumper, missing a number of 3-point attempts early, but he came through in the paint and on the glass — no easy task against the massive Steven Adams.

The Wolves led by 13 at the start of the fourth quarter and maintained a multi-possession lead until late in the final frame. But Westbrook hit a trio of threes in rapid succession while the Wolves only answered with two-point buckets. In a tie game with just over 30 seconds remaining, the Thunder forced the ball from Wiggins’ hands. It eventually ended up with Towns, who drove the seam on the right side of the floor and nailed a tough floater.

That left Oklahoma City with just over eight seconds to tie or win the game — or so it seemed. They moved quickly, and Carmelo Anthony drained a three from the left wing off a dish from Westbrook with four-plus seconds remaining.

The Timberwolves had no timeouts remaining (this will be forgotten, but why were they already out of timeouts?), so they had to inbound the ball and move up the court quickly. Taj Gibson inbounded to Wiggins, who worked around a crushing screen near mid-court from Towns. The pick sent Paul George to the floor and could have been called illegal, although it was borderline and not the type of foul that is usually called in a full-court scramble at the end of games.

Wiggins crossed the timeline, gathered, and knocked in a bank shot from the edge of the mid-court logo. The Wolves mobbed their budding star, and that was that.

Folks, your Wolves are 2-1 with consecutive wins over two likely playoff teams.

Tweets of the Night

Key Takeaways

• Save for a couple of needless contested long-twos (we may just have to live with those), Wiggins was great. He’s great at those buzzer-beating 3-pointers from straight on, isn’t he?
• Towns was awesome in the paint but is still struggling with his jumper. It looks rushed, but it also seems like one of those things that he’ll break out of at any moment.
• Tom Thibodeau shortened his rotation for the first time this year, with Jamal Crawford (16 minutes) and Gorgui Dieng (12 minutes) the only bench players reaching double figures in minutes played. Three starters (Butler, Teague, and Wiggins) logged 39 minutes. This will be something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Player of the Game

Andrew Wiggins: 27 points (10-20 FG, 2-7 3P, 5-8 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, one turnover

Beyond the game-winner at the buzzer, Wiggins had an all-around impressive game. His seven rebounds were vital, with more than a couple coming in contested situations. Four assists, a pair of steals, and one turnover are extremely encouraging as well.

Wiggins was solid offensively, although his catch-and-shoot 3-point shot was uncharacteristically a bit off. At any rate, Wiggins stepped up and filled in during what was another slow night offensively for Jimmy Butler.

Notable Box Score Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 27 points (11-17 FG, 2-7 3P, 3-3 FT), 12 rebounds, one assist, one block, 4 turnovers
• Jeff Teague: 19 points (5-10 FG, 1-1 3P, 8-8 FT), 9 assists, 6 rebounds, one steal, 3 turnovers
• Jimmy Butler: 15 points (7-17 FG, 1-4 3P, 0-0 FT), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, one turnover
• Taj Gibson: 11 points (5-7 FG, 1-1 3P), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, 4 turnovers

As mentioned, Towns was solid despite struggling with his jumper once again. He had three dunks and a couple of strong put-backs in the paint.

Teague did a good job against Russell Westbrook and nearly had his first double-double in a Wolves uniform. Butler continued his so-so offensive performance this season, but contributed in other categories. And Gibson tallied an efficient double-double of his own.

Next: 5 performances by Andrew Wiggins that support a max contract

What’s Next?

The Wolves head back to Minneapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. The Pacers are 1-2, with a high-scoring opening night win over Brooklyn as their only left-handed column result thus far this season.