The OKC Thunder lost an extremely winnable game on Friday night in Minnesota, falling to the TimberPups 96-86.
It was a Freaky Friday the 13th for the Thunder, as careless miscues and horrendous shooting cost them what should’ve been an easy victory over a shorthanded Minnesota (Zach Lavine, their third highest scorer was inactive).
The Thunder executed two key points to defeating the Timerwolves, limiting them to only 9 offensive rebounds and 6 fast break points; which are two areas of strength for the young Minnesota team.
The Timberwolves capitalized on a plethora of Thunder mistakes, scoring 33 points off 19 turnovers. Also, the Thunder had no answer for Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with a game-high 29 points (11-17 shooting) and 17 rebounds. Ricky Rubio also finished with a 14 point and 14 assist double-double for the Wolves.
Russell Westbrook put up a very unimpressive quadruple double; with 21 points (7-23 from the floor, 1-10 from deep), 12 assists, 11 rebounds, and an unbearable 10 turnovers. What’s impressive is that Russell already holds the NBA record for most triple-doubles in a season since the NBA-ABA merger with 19. Not only that, but Russ has put up enough triple-doubles in a season that one can be considered unimpressive.
Victor Oladipo put up 19 points on 8-18 shooting but was extremely erratic throughout the game. Worth noting for the Thunder: the gameplan early seemed to feature Domantas Sabonis, who only shot 3-11 for the evening, but 11 attempts is a lot for the rookie.
Enes Kanter was the only player on Oklahoma City who was able to get anything going consistently on offense, putting up 21 points on 8-10 shooting in 30 minutes off the bench. He also added 8 rebounds, 6 of which came on the offensive glass. I can’t help but wonder when people are going to start throwing Kanter’s name into the Sixth Man of the Year conversation, as he has been an almost irreplaceable offensive cog off the bench for the Thunder.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Timberwolves | 30 | 15 | 29 | 22 | 96 |
| Thunder | 28 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 86 |
In addition to Kanter, the only other bright spot for the Thunder tonight was Andre Roberson’s amazing defensive effort, as he came up with a career high five steals. Also, he was the primary defender on Andrew Wiggins, who put up 19 points, but was held to 40 percent from the floor, which is 4 percent less than what he averages nightly.
The Thunder played well during the first half especially, but they flat lined after the break. They couldn’t buy a bucket for a majority of the evening, finishing with a ghastly 38.8% from the floor, and an even worse 15% (3-20) from three point range.
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Despite only converting 33 baskets, the Thunder moved the ball well for a majority of the night, finishing with 19 assists as a team. It’s still a red flag, however, that Russell had 12 of those 19 assists.
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Defensively, the Thunder were a mixed bag, as they forced 16 turnovers. Minnesota was able to shoot 45% from the floor, despite Lavine being inactive.
Minnesota has won its 3rd straight game for the first time all season, improving to 14-26. The Thunder dropped their first game out of their last four, and drop to 24-17. The loss drops the Thunder back to the 7th seed in the Western Conference. Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, sometimes the shots just don’t fall. Although this wasn’t a must-win game, the Thunder missed a golden opportunity to set the tone early for one of their more challenging road stretches of the season.
Oklahoma City will look to bounce back in Sacramento on Sunday in the second game of this 6 game road trip.