The Oklahoma City Thunder (29-12) took care of business against the Minnesota Timberwolves (12-29) by beating them 113-93 on Friday night.
These are two teams going in opposite directions and that was clearly evident with this result. The Thunder got out to a 14-point lead after the first quarter and never looked back after that. The assisting and turnovers were the difference in the game, as the Timberwolves really struggled against this potent defense. Minnesota finished the game with 15 assists and 12 turnovers, while Oklahoma City finished with 31 assists and six turnovers.
The Timberwolves were one of the surprise stories of the NBA in the first two weeks of the season, but they've fallen back into lottery obscurity since. After starting the season 4-2, they are now 8-27 over their last 35 games. The crazy thing about it is that they continue to start players like Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince with some talented youngsters sitting on the bench. It was their most prized youngster who played well here, as Andrew Wiggins finished the game with 25 points in a solid performance. No other player scored more than 15 points in the loss and it was simply an ugly performance from the Wolves. Minnesota has a good chance at a win in their next game though, when they host the struggling Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
The Thunder have beaten the Timberwolves in nearly every game since their move from Seattle to Oklahoma City and the dominance continued here. After being ejected with zero points in his last game, Russell Westbrook bounced back nicely here with his fourth triple-double of the season. The amazing thing is that he did that in just 27 minutes of action. Kevin Durant was no slouch tonight either though, as he finished with 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the victory. Neither of those superstars played in the fourth quarter either and that's a great way to earn your studs some extra rest. Dion Waiters also accumulated some good numbers in garbage time, as he scored 20 points in the win. Oklahoma City has an interesting matchup in their next game, as they host the Miami Heat on Sunday.
