OKLAHOMA CITY — Squaring up towards Donte DiVincenzo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slammed the brakes to create house. As a sudden lane to the basket opened up, the MVP candidate solely wanted two dribbles to slide by Julius Randle for the spotlight layup.
The last-second bucket was the cherry on prime of a game-altering third quarter. The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder collected a 113-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. OKC exits 2024 with a franchise-record 12-game win streak.
The primary half could not have predicted this consequence. What regarded eerily much like the offensive woes that plagued OKC within the NBA Cup finals confirmed its ugly head once more on New Yr’s Eve. The Thunder could not generate factors towards one of many league’s prime defenses.
The Thunder left the primary quarter in a 24-21 gap. The second body wasn’t a lot completely different because the Timberwolves led by as many as 12 factors. OKC entered halftime in a 52-46 deficit. Midway via, it appeared OKC would decide up its first loss in almost a month.
As a substitute, the third quarter modified that in a blink of an eye fixed. The early elements of the second half had been the Timberwolves tightening their grip on the sport. That they had an early 9-0 run in what regarded like an early grave for OKC. Mike Conley made three straight 3-pointers to place Minnesota up by 9 factors.
Then, the OKC avalanche started. Just like the polar reverse of the dynasty Golden State Warriors, the Thunder’s historic protection took over the ultimate 9 minutes of the third body.
Each different Minnesota possession led to a turnover. The Thunder swarmed again with fastbreak buckets. The Thunder went on a jaw-dropping 32-8 run. That was a part of a good bigger 43-point third quarter and outscored the Timberwolves by 20.
From a six-point halftime deficit to a snug double-digit lead, the Thunder entered the fourth quarter with an 89-75 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander’s ballerina-esque basket to get previous DiVincenzo and Randle was a trendy end to certainly one of OKC’s extra dominant stretches this season.
The New Yr’s Eve crowd went from as quiet as a library to as loud because the midnight ball drop in New York. It resembled near a playoff ambiance and was effectively deserved by the Thunder on account of their sheer defensive dominance.
However with 1 / 4 nonetheless left to go, the Timberwolves ultimately stopped the bleeding and slowly clawed again into the sport. The Thunder’s offense struggled to provide and Minnesota stopped turning the ball over at a historic charge. They minimize it to a single-digit deficit within the opening minute.
With lower than 5 minutes left, Jaden McDaniels splashed in a 3-pointer to make it a 103-96 deficit. The Thunder then dedicated a shot-clock violation. Then DiVincenzo hit one other 3-pointer. OKC’s lead was now simply 103-99 with 4 minutes left.
Gulp. The Thunder crowd went from early celebration mode into coronary heart charges and nail-biting growing. Holding onto a three-point lead, Isaiah Hartenstein let the group breathe slightly when he had a straightforward dunk because of a Cason Wallace steal.
After falling in need of an alley-oop, Williams threw the basketball again at Gilgeous-Alexander. The MVP candidate splashed the 3-pointer. That shot served because the dagger. OKC had a 109-103 lead with 1:48 left. Williams punched the ball out of Reid and had a straightforward dunk to slam shut the door.
The Thunder shot 47% from the sphere and went 12-of-36 (33.3%) from 3. They went 17-of-23 from the free-throw line. That they had 25 assists on 42 baskets. 4 Thunder gamers scored double-digit factors.
Gilgeous-Alexander completed with one other 40-point masterpiece. Williams had a 14-point close to triple-double. Hartenstein completed with a 15-point double-double. Lu Dort had 14 factors.
Protection continues to be the aspect of the ball the Thunder lean on. They pressured 24 turnovers and scored 31 factors off them, which single-handedly gained OKC the sport in comeback vogue.
In the meantime, the Timberwolves shot 49% from the sphere and went 15-of-38 (39.5%) from 3. They went 12-of-12 from the free-throw line. That they had 21 assists on 39 baskets. 5 Timberwolves gamers scored double-digit factors.
Anthony Edwards suffered from a nasty case of Haliburton-itis. He was blanketed and held to twenty factors on 6-of-12 capturing. Randle did not do a lot with 11 factors, six rebounds and 6 assists. Conley had 14 factors and Reid completed with 19 factors and eight rebounds.
Shedding has turn into a overseas idea for the Thunder. They went almost a month with out gathering one. Even when the primary half regarded like they had been staring down a loss on account of a lackadaisical offensive outing, OKC locked in and locked up Minnesota within the third quarter.
The Timberwolves would possibly now not be the menace they had been final season, however these squads all the time present classics after they match up. That occurred as soon as once more for the primary time this season. They’ve a minimum of three dates left.
Let’s take a look at Thunder participant grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Showered with MVP chants all through the evening, this yr would possibly lastly be it for Gilgeous-Alexander. The Timberwolves had been at his mercy.
Gilgeous-Alexander completed with 40 factors on 15-of-23 capturing, three rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and went 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. That is his third 40-plus level efficiency previously week.
Like the opposite two 40-point outings, this was a radical dominance. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 factors within the first quarter. He was OKC’s sole supply of offense for the primary half. As the remaining struggled, the 26-year-old stored the Thunder in it lengthy sufficient for them to snap out of their funk.
The Thunder then almost matched their 46 first-half factors with 43 third-quarter factors. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way in which there too. He scored 19 factors within the body as he simply received to his spots. In opposition to a four-time Defensive Participant of the Yr winner, the drive-heavy scorer made Rudy Gobert look pedestrian.
Gilgeous-Alexander received to his spots with out a drawback. The sport was performed at his tempo. Drives to the hampers attracted oohs and aahs. His mid-range sport was cash. No person on Minnesota might do a factor to restrict him as he received right into a zone.
Whereas the scoreboard confirmed a detailed contest, the texture of it did not. So long as Gilgeous-Alexander was on the court docket, the Thunder would stroll away with a win. He put the ending touches to this gem within the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander is in the course of his finest stretch ever. He is slept-walked his approach to very good environment friendly 30-plus level outings and lopsided wins. The hole between him and Nikola Jokic for the MVP race continues to get smaller —if it hasn’t closed already.
Jalen Williams: B-plus
Going through up towards Randle, Williams was decided to create one other turnover. He poked and poked till the basketball was lastly loosened from his deal with. Gilgeous-Alexander rewarded his teammate’s effort with a straightforward dunk.
Whereas not the scoring menace he normally is, Williams’ countless vitality helped gasoline OKC’s comeback win with a defensive clinic within the second half. He completed with 14 factors on 6-of-12 capturing, seven assists and 7 rebounds. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Williams is the perfect on the roster relating to weaponizing the vitality the group provides the Thunder. Contemplating this was one of many higher crowds of the season, that doubtless supercharged him to go away his mark on the sport regardless of the pedestrian field rating stats.
Isaiah Hartenstein: B
Faking the handoff to Wallace, Hartenstein’s head moved a technique whereas his hand moved the opposite. The no-look bounce go to his fellow starter completed with a dunk. The seven-footer dished out related small-window bounce-pass assists to Williams, Kenrich Williams and Aaron Wiggins.
Hartenstein’s playmaking has lived as much as the hype. He is been a further facilitator that OKC continues to depend on to create simple appears to be like for his teammates. It was one other clock-in, clock-out outing for the 26-year-old. He completed with 15 factors on 5-of-10 capturing, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and two blocks. He shot 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
The double-double machine continues to outplay the opposition. This time, it was towards each Gobert and Randle. There is a purpose Reid was the perfect of Minnesota’s three bigs and that was as a result of Hartenstein was off the ground for many of his minutes.
The Timberwolves had been doubtless circled as a squad that the Thunder needed to see Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren match up towards. Even after the surprising Karl-Anthony Cities commerce, they nonetheless had a three-headed frontcourt monster.
It did not occur on this matchup, however it’s simple to see the imaginative and prescient. Now that Holmgren now not wants crutches to stroll, the dream took a step nearer to actuality. Hartenstein and Holmgren ought to complement effectively off one another and can neutralize plenty of the West’s proficient and enormous frontcourts like Minnesota.
Lu Dort: A-minus
If Timberwolves followers are hellbent on together with Edwards in the identical stratosphere as Gilgeous-Alexander, they doubtless wish to erase this matchup.
The high-usage scorer was a no-show in OKC. He solely tried 12 pictures and received it going too late. It was an uncharacteristic outing for the 23-year-old amid a breakout season. Such is the case for many of the opposition’s finest scorers towards Dort.
Dort completed with 14 factors on 5-of-12 capturing, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3.
The scoring was a pleasant add-on, however Dort earned this reward from the defensive aspect. He is been a Kryptonite towards among the West’s finest guards. Minnesota’s offense this season has been about Edwards and with him restricted, it struggled to crack triple-digit factors.
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This text initially appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Participant grades: Thunder avalanche Timberwolves for 113-105 win
