The Minnesota Timberwolves defense was short-handed, but that was only part of the story in this game as the entire defense regressed. But neither center Rudy Gobert nor point guard D’Angelo Russell stuck around to see the outcome. Rudy Gobert was ejected for the first time in his NBA career in the first half after an altercation with Oklahoma City Thunder Kendrich Williams.
D'Angelo Russell has been a critical stabilizing force in a short-handed game that easily could have gone sideways after Gobert got ejected.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 4, 2022
In the aftermath, the Minnesota Timberwolves were led to a huge rally, putting up 44 points in the third quarter to take a 101-97 lead into the final quarter. But four points was not enough in this one, as the Thunder rumbled in the fourth quarter to outscore the Timberwolves by 11 points. Adding insult to injury, the Referees in this game handed out a total of eight Technical Fouls, which led to the second Minnesota Timberwolves ejection in the game.
D'Angelo Russell just got ejected.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) December 4, 2022
The game was very winnable. The Minnesota Timberwolves not only were without Karl-Anthony Towns and the ejected Rudy Gobert, but SF Jaden McDaniels, was fairly rusty having not played since the November 25th loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Before his ejection, D’Angelo Russell flashed his former Brooklyn Nets form in scoring, distributing the ball, and even solid defense. But the Timberwolves simply did not have enough discipline and maturity for this one, turning the ball over 23 times, many times at key moments in the game.
Naz Reid put up a double-double in this one, scoring 13 points and hauling in a career-high 18 rebounds. That mark dwarfs his previous high of 14 rebounds set on April 15, 2021.
The Timberwolves wanted to bolster the team’s defense, but in the past four games, this team has allowed a shocking average of 129 points per game. If that continues, the Timberwolves will struggle to find wins.
This loss drops the Minnesota Timberwolves to fourth place in the NBA Northwest Division, and out of the NBA Playoff spots for the NBA’s Western Conference. The homestand ends on Wednesday, December 7th, as Target Center welcomes the visiting Indiana Pacers (12-10) with a tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm CT.
The Timberwolves follow that game up with a five-game road trip.