Naz Reid collected 27 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 116-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards added 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game skid. Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished nine assists to lead Oklahoma City (44-10). The Thunder never led in the game — the first time that happened all season.
Jalen Williams scored 20 points, and Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein notched double-doubles. The former had 11 points and 12 rebounds, while the latter put up 10 and 12, respectively.
Minnesota shot 42.4 percent overall and 26.1 percent (12 of 46) from 3-point range. Oklahoma City hit 42 percent from the field and 24.1 percent (7 of 29) from deep.
The Timberwolves (31-25) played without Rudy Gobert, who was a late addition to the injury report because of back spasms. Teammates Mike Conley (finger), Julius Randle (groin) and Donte DiVincenzo (toe) remained sidelined in the final game before the All-Star break.
A 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter helped Minnesota put the game away. Backup big man Luka Garza made a tip shot to conclude the run and put the Timberwolves on top 107-89 with eight minutes remaining.
Minnesota led 97-87 at the end of the third quarter.
Aaron Wiggins made a 3-pointer to pull Oklahoma City within 84-80 with 4:39 remaining in the third.
Minnesota responded with an 8-0 run to pull ahead 92-80 with 2:48 left in the third quarter. McDaniels drove toward the rim for a floating jump shot and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Edwards knocked down 3-pointers during the run.
The Timberwolves led 64-56 at the half.
Gilgeous-Alexander drained a 3-pointer to cut the Thunder’s deficit to 62-56 with 43.1 seconds remaining in the half.
Terrence Shannon Jr. increased the Timberwolves’ lead to eight points with a jump shot at the buzzer.
Timberwolves rookie guard Jaylen Clark made his first career start. The second-round pick out of UCLA finished with four points, three rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes.
–Field Level Media
