Naz Reid collected 27 points, 13 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, eight rebounds and seven assists for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game skid. Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points on 9-for-18 shooting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished nine assists to lead Oklahoma City, which lost for only the 10th time in 54 games this season. Jalen Williams scored 20 points, and Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein notched double-doubles. The former had 11 points and 10 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 shot 42 percent from the field and 24.1 percent (7 of 29) from deep.
The Timberwolves 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.
Andrew 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
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