Timberwolves Gobert sets record as game hangs on balance until final buzzer

What went wrong

The Timberwolves were pretty sloppy in the second half. It was a game that became tough to watch at times, as the Timberwolves committed ugly fouls, and foolish turnovers, and struggled throughout the game to keep the much smaller Oklahoma City Thunder from getting rebounds, particularly on the offensive boards.

But that was only one of the multiple problems for the Timberwolves in the opener. Perhaps one of the more concerning areas was the ice-cold perimeter shooting for this team. The Timberwolves made plenty of attempts from three-point range, 38 in all, but only 10 found their mark, ending with a 26.3 percent accuracy.

KAT and DLo struggled a bit

Neither Karl-Anthony Towns nor D’Angelo Russell had great games. DLo was solid on offense, scoring 20 points, but he committed four turnovers and five fouls. He didn’t seem to be in full command of the floor at times, dishing out just two assists.

KAT was a bit more concerning. He is still underwhelming, no doubt suffering from his illness. He shot just two of seven from the perimeter and was zero for two with a couple of unwise pull-up jumpers from mid-range. He committed three turnovers and four personal fouls. He ended the first game with just 12 points and six rebounds.

Even Anthony Edwards was cold, hitting just one of seven from the perimeter, and just four of 17 from the floor.

The Timberwolves lost the handle on the basketball far too often as well, committing 14 turnovers compared to just 13 turnovers by the much younger Thunder roster. Even the Timberwolves bench underachieved in the opener, as they put up just 30 points while the Oklahoma City Thunder bench scored 36 points.