OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Just when it appeared the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to run away from Minnesota like they’ve run away from the pack in the Western Conference standings, the Timberwolves made a stand.
Minnesota rallied from a 25-point deficit in the second half to win 131-128 in Oklahoma City on Monday night. Now a Timberwolves team that reached the Western Conference Finals last season but has struggled at times this season has regained its confidence.
The Thunder led 82-57 with just over seven minutes left in the in the third quarter and 102-80 heading into the fourth. Some Timberwolves players weren’t even sure they could rally.
“Probably not, just because this one didn’t feel like there was a chance in hell,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said. “For me, my mindset was, ‘Okay, this game is pretty much over.’ However, how we finish is going to carry over to the next game.”
Minnesota finished by outscoring the Thunder 41-19 in the fourth quarter, then winning in the extra period. Jaden McDaniels had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Naz Reid had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Anthony Edwards added 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for the Timberwolves.
A road win against the top team in the West is just what Minnesota needed. The Timberwolves had lost their first two games since the All-Star break, including a 130-123 home loss to the Thunder on Sunday night.
Minnesota is 32-27 this season, but Monday’s win shows the Timberwolves’ potential heading into road games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah and Phoenix.
“I think this starts a lot of momentum for us,” Reid said. “We bring the energy we brought tonight in the fourth quarter from the jump, we’ve got a great chance of beating all of those teams. I’m excited to get going.”
Minnesota center Rudy Gobert missed the game with back spasms and forward Julius Randle has been out all month with a groin injury. Edwards suffered a slight lower leg injury in the fourth quarter and sat for most of it. But he made one of the game’s biggest plays when he blocked what would have been a go-ahead bucket from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 13.2 seconds left in overtime.
“That took everything out of me,” Edwards said. “What’s crazy is I don’t even think I jumped that high. That’s what was crazy. When I blocked it, I was definitely talking a lot of trash, for sure.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s leading scorer, finished with 39 points. Jalen Williams, another All-Star, added 27. Sure, the Thunder rested forward Chet Holmgren and center Isaiah Hartenstein went out after his nose was bloodied in the second quarter. But this is the same Thunder team that has compiled its 46-11 record with seemingly endless configurations under Mark Daigneault, the reigning NBA Coach of the Year.
The season series ended up tied at 2-all, and this win has the Timberwolves thinking they could have the same success in the postseason.
“A hundred percent,” Reid said. “I think the score’s even now, as Nickeil would say. Hopefully we get a chance to see them in the playoffs.”
Minnesota coach Chris Finch’s game plan leaves the Thunder with some things to think about. The Timberwolves trapped and forced the ball out of Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands late, and his teammates missed open shots.
“I think sometimes when other players haven’t been involved in the game very much, it’s hard for them to rise up and make shots down the stretch,” Finch said. “We took that bet, and that’s what happened.”
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Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
