Thunder 92, Timberwolves 84: Russell Westbrook scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as host Oklahoma City held off Minnesota in an ugly contest.
Westbrook finished strong to salvage a 7-for-22 shooting night while Serge Ibaka collected 13 points and a season-high 19 rebounds for the Thunder, who were without star Kevin Durant (toe). Reggie Jackson and Anthony Morrow each scored 14 points off the bench and fellow reserve Dion Waiters added 10 points and five assists as Oklahoma City snapped a two-game skid and moved a game above .500.
Rookie Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points on 7-of-14 from the field and Thaddeus Young added 22 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have dropped five straight and 21 of 23. Zach LaVine contributed 11 points off the bench and Gorgui Dieng had a season-high 18 rebounds and three blocked shots as Minnesota lost its fifth straight against the Thunder and its 10th in a row in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City slogged to a 65-56 lead entering the fourth and had a tough time putting away the Timberwolves. A Mo Williams 3-pointer pulled Minnesota within 84-77 with 3:16 to play before Jackson and Morrow hit consecutive triples for the Thunder and Westbrook banked in a runner to make it 92-79, and the margin didn't dip into single digits again.
The Thunder reeled off a 10-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second to open up a 12-point lead and had it up to 15 before settling for a 48-40 advantage at the break. Minnesota went scoreless for nearly 4 1/2 minutes late in the third quarter, but Oklahoma City was unable to take advantage, going 5-for-19 from the field in the quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wiggins has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games. … The Thunder were 4-for-20 from 3-point range while the Timberwolves were 2-for-13. … Oklahoma City C Steven Adams, who missed Sunday's game at Cleveland with a migraine, returned to the lineup and tallied eight points, five rebounds and four blocks.
Minnesota | Oklahoma City | |
Andrew Wiggins 23 | Scoring | Russell Westbrook 18 |
Mo Williams 3 | Assists | Dion Waiters 5 |
Gorgui Dieng 18 | Rebounds | Serge Ibaka 19 |
Andrew Wiggins 9 | Free Throws Made | Russell Westbrook 4 |
Andrew Wiggins 2 | Steals | Reggie Jackson 3 |
Gorgui Dieng 3 | Blocks | Steven Adams 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Minnesota | 84 | 34.1 | 2-13 | 24-32 | 13 | 50 | 5 | 9 | 13 |
Oklahoma City | 92 | 41.9 | 4-20 | 16-24 | 17 | 52 | 11 | 9 | 16 |