OKLAHOMA CITY — There were times during the Timberwolves' last two wins when it seemed the energy of Patrick Beverley prevented the Wolves from collapse. Beverley helped stave off a fourth-quarter surge from the Clippers on Monday and a Thunder comeback on Wednesday.
He wasn't available on Friday as he nurses a sore right groin, but the Wolves carried on just fine without him in a much more convincing performance over the Thunder in a 135-105 win, their third in a row.
The Wolves' offense was humming from the start with one of its most efficient nights of the season. The Wolves shot 67% in the first half, 56% for the game to build a lead that would grow to as large as 41.
Anthony Edwards hit five 3s in the first quarter on his way to 24 points while D'Angelo Russell shook the rust off from COVID-19 protocols with 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting. Russell and Edwards added 12 and seven assists, respectively. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points, while Jarred Vanderbilt had 11 points and tied a career-high with 16 rebounds.
There have been a few times when Edwards has caught fire this season — hitting five 3s in a quarter against Memphis, knocking down a franchise-record 10 against the Nuggets. He came out of the gates on fire in the first quarter Friday with another five 3s. In doing so, he joined Warriors guard Stephen Curry as the only two players to make five or more threes in a quarter multiple times this season.
He opened with three on three straight possessions before taking a break until later in the quarter, when he closed it out with a layup and two more 3s in the final minutes. That made for a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and 17 points. That performance helped the Wolves to a 13 of 21 start in the first quarter. The Wolves only led by four after the first quarter despite their hot start because the defense lagged to start with Beverley out. Oklahoma City shot 9 of 21 in the first, which included 4 of 8 3-pointers and hit all six of its free throws to keep it close.
While Edwards was on fire in the first quarter, Russell took the torch in the second.
Russell struggled with his shot in his first game back from COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday when he shot just 3 of 12 and didn't play in the final minutes in favor of Jaylen Nowell.
Russell was 8 for 8 in the first half, which included a 6 for 6 second quarter to match Edwards' first. He hit all three of his 3s, which included a bank shot from just left of the top of the key. Toward the end of the half, the Wolves finally strung together stops while they hit shots. A 15-2 run gave them a 73-54 lead, their largest of the half.
Josh Okogie (eight points), who hadn't played in three of the previous four games, had six points in that run. The Wolves shot 28 of 42 (67%) for the first half and took a 73-57 lead into the locker room.
The only question was would the Wolves allow the Thunder to come back at home the way they did at Target Center? The answer was a resounding no. The Wolves kept the pressure on the Thunder out of the locker room and never let them get closer than 15. Early in the fourth, Edwards and Russell bookended the night with back to back 3s to put the Wolves up 32, a fitting exclamation point on the night.
