The Oklahoma City Thunder will travel north to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The OKC Thunder and Timberwolves have released their injury reports and starting lineups and spoke to the media for the final time ahead of this win-or-go-home contest.
On Sunday, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a brutal afternoon. Rudy Gobert punched Kyle Anderson in the Chest during a Timeout, Jaden McDaniels punched a wall, and yet they rallied to down the Pelicans. Then, on Tuesday, after suspending Gobert for a contest, they unraveled down the stretch of the game to fall late to the Lakers in Overtime. Now, they face a do-or-die game in the NBA Play-In Tournament less than a year after their jaw-dropping all-in move to grab the All-Star Center from Utah.
The OKC Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves release injury reports, announce starters, and prepare for battle for the eighth seed in the NBA Western Conference.
As the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first Western Conference Tenth Seed to win an NBA Play-In Tournament game by knocking off the Pelicans, they now look to be the first to advance to the First Round of the Postseason. A trip to Denver is on the line as the two teams battle at 8:30 Central Time on ESPN.
The OKC Thunder will be without Kenrich Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Aleksej Pokusevski for this contest. Holmgren (Lisfranc Fracture) and Williams (wrist) are out for the season; Pokusevski is ruled out with a knee contusion.
The Timberwolves will miss key pieces Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, two of their best rotational players. Rudy Gobert, who was tabbed as questionable with back spasms, is active tonight.
The Thunder will roll out their now traditional starting lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, and Jaylin Williams.
Minnesota will start both centers and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert.