Oklahoma City Thunder 126
Minnesota Timberwolves 123
The Minnesota Timberwolves showed quite a bit of fight, but fell short of the Oklahoma City Thunder 126-123 Wednesday night at Target Center.
1. Back-and-forth battle
While the Wolves came up on the short end again, they found themselves battling with a good team down the stretch, and at one point during the third quarter the teams battled back and forth possession after possession.
Gotta see this @22wiggins' monster slam! #The1? – Watch @Timberwolves vs. @okcthunder now on @FSNorth, #FOXSportsGO https://t.co/u13kpQhSfH
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) January 28, 2016
Which was followed immediately on the other end with a big answer from Russell Westbrook.
Andrew Wiggins just Euro'd into a dunk on Durant. And Westbrook comes back with a 3. This is terrific
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) January 28, 2016
But during a key stretch of the fourth quarter, the Wolves went on a 6-minute drought. They were outscored 13-1 during that stretch as the Thunder pulled away.
Minnesota battled back but could never close the deficit.
2. Durant cold-blooded in the clutch
Kevin Durant hit some big shots in the final moments, helping the Thunder put the game away. With the Wolves trailing 113-111 and less than two minutes to go, Durant delivered a back-breaking three.
It was his only three-pointer of the night. Durant finished with 27 points and 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
3. LaVine locked on
It was Zach LaVine’s night to shine for the Wolves. LaVine finished with a game-high 35 points and the Thunder had no answers for how to stop him.
Zach is 9-10 from the field — 4-5 on 3s — for 23 points and Wolves lead 99-97 with 9 minutes left
— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) January 28, 2016
LaVine made big play after big play to keep the Wolves in the game. He finished the night 14-of-17 from the floor and was 5-of-8 from the three-point line.
Tweet of the Night:
This didn’t count for anything, but it sure was an amazing shot by Karl-Anthony Towns.
Karl Anthony-Towns made the best shot of the NBA season but it didn't count. https://t.co/WPunTEIYzY https://t.co/jxMDO31xp6
— SB Nation (@SBNation) January 28, 2016
He did score 19 points that did count in the game though.
Up Next:
The Wolves (14-33) travel to Utah on Friday night.
