After falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-100 on Christmas Day in Oklahoma City, the Minnesota Timberwolves entered Friday night’s game looking for revenge.
Mission accomplished.
Minnesota earned its third straight win after topping Oklahoma City 96-86 Friday at Target Center.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Wolves with 29 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks. Andrew Wiggins had 19 points and six rebounds, Ricky Rubio had 14 points, 14 assists and four rebounds, Brandon Rush had 11 points and four rebounds and Nemanja Bjelica had eight points and three rebounds off the bench.
“We’re improving. . . Overall, I thought it was good,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “You need everyone working together. I thought the spacing is good, I think are doing a really good job for us as well. I really like the way Kris Dunn is playing. We got a lot of guys that are putting the work in and improving. But we still have a long way to go.”
Minnesota, which trailed 50-45 at halftime, got on a roll in the third quarter, outscoring Oklahoma City 29-18 out of the half. Rubio led the way for the Wolves in the third, finishing with six points and seven assists in that quarter alone.
Another big key to the Wolves’ success in the game was their defense, holding the Thunder to 38.8 percent shooting from the field. Minnesota also held Russell Westbrook to 7-of-23 from the field, including 1-for-13 in the second half.
Westbrook finished with 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds to lead the Thunder. Enes Kanter had 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Victor Oladipo had 19 points and five rebounds.
“They are big, they are a tough team and they put pressure on you,” Thibodeau said. “Westbrook is an incredible player. He’s a tough matchup because he keeps constant pressure on you. On every possession, he’s racing the ball up the floor and if there is a slight crack, he can get into it. . . He missed some shots he normally makes, but overall I think we made him work for what he got.”
The Wolves improve to 14-26 on the season, while the Thunder fall to 24-17 overall.
“Every day, we have a lot of work to do,” Thibodeau said. “We can’t feel good about ourselves. Tonight, we got to get ready for Dallas. Dallas is sitting there and waiting. It’s going to be an early start, we have to be ready to go and put the amount of preparation into it. When that ball goes up, we got to be ready to go.”
Highlight Of The Game
With 32.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Rubio found Shabazz Muhammad for a left-handed slam that put the Wolves up 74-68.
The Numbers Game
Player Of The Game
Although you could have picked a few different players for this, Friday night’s Wolves Player of the Game is Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns shot 11-for-17 form the field in the game and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. He registered his 10th straight double-double and his 30th of the season. Towns recorded his 18th 20-point, 10-rebound game of the year, trailing only Anthony Davis (24) and Westbrook (24) for most in the NBA.
“I think after the first month, his rebounding just keeps getting better and better. They are range rebounds too. It’s not just ones that are coming to him, he’s going and getting them,” Thibodeau said. “The shot blocking is starting to come. . . I think he is starting to see things and that’s important for us.”
Up Next
The Wolves hit the road to take on the Dallas Mavericks at 1 p.m. Sunday in the first game of a three-game road trip. The game will be aired on Fox Sports North and 830 WCCO.
