OKC Thunder: player grades from impressive win over MIN

Best OKC Thunder reserve performance:

Ty Jerome continues to be a pleasant surprise for OKC as he keeps up his awe-inspiring production from the bench. Jerome went 100 percent from 3-point land against Minnesota, going five of five from beyond the arc.

There has yet to be a part of Jerome’s game that isn’t polished. He can drop dimes if he needs to and can score in any situation. Jerome had a significant plus/minus differential at plus-11 and continues to show poise commanding the offense.

If it were up to me, I would place Ty Jerome in the starting lineup to relieve Theo Maledon, but I am not the OKC Thunder head coach. His presence with the second unit is more than outstanding, and it will only continue to get better as his time with this squad increases.

Best opponent performance:

Minnesota did not have much going for them Monday night, but the lone bright spot was Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT had 33 points in 38 minutes of playing time while going 10 of 28 from the field.

The star center is undoubtedly one of the more skilled big men in the NBA, and the fact that he was able to do all of his damage in three quarters pays tribute to just how effective he can be on any given night.

Moses Brown gave the Minnesota All-Star some serious problems, but regardless, KAT will find his points one way or another.

OKC shut down every other Timberwolves player, so Towns would have needed to score 50 in the contest to get Minnesota the win.

Conversely, since the Thunder played superb defense and the big still went off and had himself a 30 and 10 game, it only fits that he gets graded with an ‘A’ as he was on fire Monday night.

In closing:

The OKC Thunder continue to impress during the second half of the season. It has not mattered what the personnel looks like or if the rotations look somewhat different. Daigneault gets this team ready to play every game.

Nights like Monday prove why this team will not lay down. Entering the night as a five-point underdog, the Thunder had the upper hand after the first quarter commenced.

Watching the Oklahoma City play, it would be impossible to guess this team sits 11th in the Western Conference, only three games out of a playoff spot with a record of 19-24.

This team continues to defy the odds and is not subscribing to any “tank theories” that continue to surface amongst league chatter.

The more playing time the younger core gets under its belt, the better the results will be in the future. Monday’s contest was testimony to the culmination of hard work this team continues to put in daily.

Click here to view the full box score.

The OKC Thunder will be back in action at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday as the team returns home to take on the Memphis Grizzlies at Chesapeake Energy Arena.