One of the promising signs for the Timberwolves in the second half of the NBA season is that even when they lost, their performances haven't had a stench attached to them like they did in the first half.
That wasn't the case Monday night, as Oklahoma City didn't have much trouble taking care of the Wolves in a 112-103 victory at Target Center.
After playing competitive games against the likes of Portland, the Lakers and Phoenix recently, the Wolves took a step back in Monday's loss to the Thunder. Their offense was ragged as Karl-Anthony Towns led them with 33 on an inefficient 10-for-28 shooting. Anthony Edwards had 16 on 6-for-16. Edwards was absent from the late-game lineup as coach Chris Finch chose to go with Towns, Ricky Rubio, Jaylen Nowell, Josh Okogie and Juancho Hernangomez down the stretch. The Thunder pulled away with a fourth-quarter surge against the Wolves bench plus Edwards. It didn't help that the Thunder refused to miss from outside, as they converted 21 of 37 from three-point range.
Shai-Gilegous Alexander had 31 points to lead the Thunder while Ty Jerome added 15.
The Wolves made a late push after cutting a double-digit Thunder lead to six with under a minute left, but Towns missed a three that would've cut it to three.
Both coaches, Chris Finch and Mark Daigneault, had experience in the G League, and the opening minutes resembled something more akin to a G-League contest. There was sloppy basketball at both ends while the Wolves couldn't do much outside of Towns. Towns had five of the Wolves' eight field goals and 15 of their 22 points in the first quarter, even as he attempted to play through pain. On one sequence Towns landed hard on his left wrist, the same wrist the he injured last season and earlier this season.
He was favoring the wrist, but stayed in the game.
Oklahoma City held a small lead for most of the half behind Gilgeous-Alexander. Edwards tried to get going in the second after he didn't score in the first. He would score nine points on 3 of 7 shooting. Oklahoma City would close the half on a 7-0 run for a 57-50 lead at the half.
The third quarter wasn't any smoother than the first half as the teams went a stretch of 3:15 with just two points scored. Eventually the Wolves pulled it together enough to make their first serious run of the night a 10-0 spurt that gave them their first lead, 60-59, since early in the first.
But losing the lead seemed to awaken the Thunder, who then went on a 14-2 run of its own to take its largest lead of the night 72-63 after a Gilegous-Alexander three. The Wolves would climb back within 75-74, but Gilgeous-Alexander would close out the quarter strong for Oklahoma City with a layup and three to put the Thunder ahead 83-76 headed into the fourth.
The young bench unit that started the fourth looked out of sorts for the Wolves, especially on the defensive end, where Oklahoma City caught fire from three-point range. Svi Mykhailiuk and Kenrich Williams hit a threes on three consecutive possessions for the Thunder as it grew its lead to 96-81. Before Williams took his three and it went down the Thunder bench was already celebrating. The Thunder would lead by as much as 18.
The Wolves would cut it close late, but there was too much inconsistency they rest of the night for which they had to compensate.
