Anthony Edwards was three assists shy of a triple-double and Naz Reid scored 28 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Oklahoma City Thunder despite Rudy Robert, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns all missing the game with injuries.
Taurean Prince and Jordan McLaughlin were also out with injuries, so the likes of Nathan Knight and Austin Rivers had to step up – and they didn’t miss their chance.
Rivers buried a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left to give Minnesota a 111-07 lead and Minnesota held on for a 112-110 victory, snapping a three-game losing streak to end their five-game road trip.
Rivers finished with 20 points and hit 4-of-5 3s. He started alongside Edwards, Kyle Anderson, Jaden McDaniels and Reid.
Edwards had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. He had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the first half, acting as a distributor without a true point guard available due to injuries to Russell and McLaughlin.
But it was the guys who are typically backups who shined brightest.
Reid scored 28 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Rivers had 5 steals to go with his 20 points, and Knight, who had 13 points all season, scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Jaylen Nowell had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists off the bench.
The victory gets the Wolves to 14-15 on the season.
Gobert (ankle) and Russell (knee) were questionable for the game so it’s unlikely that this miss much more time, if any. Minnesota is back in action Sunday against the Chicago Bulls.
