OKLAHOMA CITY _ A fan near the Wolves bench shouted at Andrew Wiggins as Wiggins was about to enter the game in the third quarter. Wiggins initially didn't hear him, so turned back and asked, "What?"
"You're still not as good as Jimmy Butler," the fan said.
Wiggins turned away and said nothing.
Perhaps Wiggins used that as motivation on Sunday night as he scored a season-high 30-point, including a go-ahead layup with 14.3 seconds to play in a 114-112 Wolves victory over the Thunder.
With the win, the Wolves finally defeated a Western Conference opponent on the road after missing in their first 12 tries this season.
A Dario Saric 3-pointer gave the Wolves a 111-110 lead with 37.8 seconds remaining, but Thunder guard Russell Westbrook followed that with a reverse layup to put the Thunder back up one with 23 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, Wiggins took the ball to the hoop and hit a difficult layup with 14.3 left to give a one-point lead back to the Wolves. Alex Abrines missed a 3-pointer for the Thunder and following Wiggins hitting one of two free throws on the other end, Paul George bricked a last-second 3-point attempt with rookie Josh Okogie guarding him.
The Wolves got the benefit of the whistle in the first quarter going as the Thunder were called for seven early fouls to the Wolves' two. Russell Westbrook and Paul George each committed two of those fouls while Wiggins got off to a strong start. Wiggins scored eight points during a 10-0 Minnesota run that enabled the Wolves to erase and early 17-13 deficit. His 15 first-quarter points were the most he scored in a quarter all season.
With Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague our because of sore left ankles, Tyus Jones got the start at point guard, but most of the offense ran through Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 11 early points. With Jerryd Bayless running the show at point guard on the second unit, the Wolves increased their lead late in the first quarter with Bayless converting on a last-second layup after a steal from Gorgui Dieng.
His 3-pointer 1 minute, 42 seconds into the second quarter gave the Wolves a 40-28 lead. But the Wolves struggled to score for a stretch of time after that.
The Thunder chipped away at the least and made a surge after Westbrook and George re-entered the game. A 9-1 spurt for the Thunder closed the game to 45-44 _ and then a buzzsaw hit the Wolves in the form of George.
George matched Wiggins' 15 first-quarter points with 15 of his own and the Thunder led 63-53 by halftime.
The Wolves made up that deficit in the third quarter thanks to a lineup that consisted of Taj Gibson, Covington, Josh Okogie, Gorgui Dieng and Jones. Okogie made things happen with his defense and hustle while Dieng hit his first four shots as the Wolves went on a 13-2 run, which included an Okogie 3-point play, to re-take the lead 80-78. Wiggins regained his touch toward the end of the quarter and had five straight points to end the third. The Wolves led 86-80 entering the fourth.
The Wolves extended their lead to 10 in the fourth as Dieng hit a fadeway shot-clock beating 3 and Dario got a 3 to fall after missing his first three attempts of the night.
Again, Westbrook and George helped bring the Thunder back, hitting a pair of 3s to bring the Thunder within 97-94 with 5:48 to play. Robert Covington kept the Thunder from taking over with three the traditional way and from beyond the arc and the Wolves clung to a 104-100 lead with 3:30 to play, and were able to find a way to eke one out.
