Naz Reid collected 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves went on a 116-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Minneapolis on Thursday night.
Anthony Edwards added 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to Minnesota. Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points in a 18-9 shooting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and led Oklahoma City with nine assists. Jalen Williams scored 20 points, while Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein notched doubles. The former had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while the latter increased 10 and 12 respectively.
Minnesota shot 42.4% overall, 26.1% (12 of 46) from the 3-point range. Oklahoma City shot 42% from the field and 24.1% (7 out of 29) from the Deep.
The Timberwolves played without Rudy Gobert, who was late added to the injury report due to back convulsions. Teammates Mike Conley (finger), Julius Randle (gro caliber) and Donte Divinsenzo (toe) remained on the sidelines in the final match before the All-Star break.
Running 10-0 early in the fourth quarter, Minnesota put the game down. Backup big man Luca Garza took a chip shot to finish the run and placed the Timberwolves in the top 107-89 with eight minutes left.
Minnesota led 97-87 at the end of the third quarter.
Andrew Wiggins made a 3-pointer to pull the 3-pointer within 84-80, with 4:39 remaining third.
Minnesota responded with an 8-0 run and advanced 92-80 with 2:48 left in the third quarter. McDaniels drove towards the rim for a floating jump shot, while Nikkill Alexander Walker and Edwards knocked down a three-pointer during the run.
The Timberwolves led 64-56 in half.
Gilgeous-Alexander ejected three pointers to reduce Thunder’s deficit to 62-56, leaving with 43.1 seconds left.
Terrence Shannon Jr. increased the Timberwolves’ lead to eight points in a jump shot at Buzzer.
Timberwolves rookie guard Jaylen Clark created his first career start. UCLA’s second pick ended with four points, three rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes.
– Field-level media
