Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Scores 33 Points As Thunder Defeats Timberwolves
In a game between the top two teams in the Western Conference standings on Saturday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter as the Oklahoma City Thunder came back to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 95-102.
For Oklahoma City, Jaylin Williams contributed 20 points, and Chet Holmgren, a native of Minnesota, chipped in with 15. Early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder fell behind by 11, but they came back to win for the second time in four games and close the gap to Minnesota by one game.
Coach Mark Daigneault of Oklahoma City stated, “We just had great resilience tonight.” “Playing defense like that is one thing, but having such terrible ball movement is quite another. We just couldn’t seem to get them to work. The second half saw them play excellent defense.”
The Timberwolves scored 14 points on 3-of-13 shooting in the fourth quarter while the Thunder shot just 39.5% from the field.
Naz Reid scored 18 points, while Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 19. Following their four-game losing streak that caused them to fall behind Oklahoma City, the Timberwolves have won four straight to take the top spot in the West.
Towns stated, “Becoming more adept with the ball is all that’s required. We didn’t find a way to win today, but I think we gave ourselves a chance at the end of the game.” Respect and a shootout to them for making some clutch shots when it counted. Our task for the upcoming game is to solve it.”
Turnovers have been Minnesota’s biggest problem all season, and that problem helped the Thunder maintain a lead prior to Oklahoma City’s late-game surge, which saw them outscore the Wolves 24–10 to win the game. Minnesota committed 21 mistakes, which resulted in 28 points.
Edwards, who committed five turnovers, stated, “We have to stop turning it over.” “It seems that easy, I perform in front of large audiences. It’s sometimes just a simple pass to the opposing team. Simply must reduce your use of them. Everything will be OK.”
With three minutes left, Oklahoma City tied the score at ninety-two thanks to a 19-7 run. The Thunder led 96-94 with 1:14 remaining after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made a 3-pointer.
According to Luguentz Dort of Oklahoma City, “He’s been in this situation so many times now.” “When he takes shots like that, I don’t find it surprising. What a self-assured guy. We all have confidence in him to take those kinds of shots for us because he knows he can make them for the team, and he did a great job.”
Michael Conley missed a three-pointer with 23.4 seconds left, and Williams made two free throws, but Rudy Gobert made one of his two free throw attempts to get Minnesota within one.
Isaiah Joe made two free throws to restore the three-point lead after Reid scored on the other end. With 3.4 seconds left, Edwards was fouled while shooting a three-point shot. He purposefully missed the third attempt and missed the first two, giving Oklahoma City the rebound.
“Despite a challenging evening, I just felt that our team’s defense had incredible mental toughness,” Daigneault remarked.
This season, Oklahoma City has defeated the two young teams in each of their matches; Saturday’s victory was the team’s first away victory. On January 29, Oklahoma City will host the last regular-season game.
