There are games during a long NBA season that feel as though they can define a team’s season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ 112-107 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday felt like exactly that. It was the type of win that feels like it should count for more than one win in the standings, especially for a Timberwolves team that had previously struggled this season against teams at the top of the Western Conference standings.
Tonight, it felt like the exact opposite.
The Wolves took on a reeling
Milwaukee Bucks team without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who came into the night with an 11-17 record in a make-or-break season for their franchise. In an obvious letdown spot, the Wolves would need to avoid a loss to a Bucks team that had gone 2-9 in their previous 11 games without their best player
In what likely surprised absolutely no one, the Wolves came out of the gates slowly. Defensively, they were a step slow the entire half, while offensively, they struggled to put the ball in the basket, going 35 percent from the field, 18 percent from deep, including misses on their first 13 attempts, and 67 percent from the free-throw line.
To make matters worse, Jaden McDaniels left the game in the second quarter due to left hip pain and did not return.
As they’ve done so often of late, though, they completely turned it around in the second half. After going down by 15 points, the Wolves put together a 20-0 run in less than six minutes to completely change the game as Donte DiVincenzo put in a pair of 3-pointers to tie the game and give them the lead.
Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert were dominant during the run and the entire second half. Conley, who had missed the previous four games, turned back the clock with an outstanding performance. While he only scored six points, his playmaking was the driving force of the run that put the Wolves in the lead, as he finished with six assists and a plus-minus of +16.
Gobert was dominant on both ends of the floor, locking down the paint as he always does defensively while grabbing 18 total rebounds, including six on the offensive end. In the first quarter, Gobert surpassed 10,000 total rebounds in his career. He has the fifth most rebounds among active players.
Anthony Edwards struggled with his shot all night, going 7-24 from the field, but got to the free-throw line 12 times, making eight, to give him 24 points on the night. While not an efficient scoring night, Edwards affected the game in other areas, matching Conley’s six assists while turning it over just once.
Edwards also had seven points down the stretch of the game, including a 3-pointer with less than three minutes left that gave the Wolves an eight-point lead, effectively sealing the game.
The Timberwolves went on to win by a final score of 103-100, bringing their season record to 19-10, four wins ahead of last year’s record at this time.
This story will be updated throughout the night after coach and player media availabilities.
Up Next
The Timberwolves close out their five-game homestand on Tuesday against old friend Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks. It will be just the second game KAT takes the Target Center floor in an away uniform since being traded before the start of last season.
The game begins at 7:00 PM CT. Fans can watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network.
