It was to be the big debut of Chet Holmgren in his native state of Minnesota, but in the absence of the rookie, it was the night of the tricolor pivot for his official debut under his new colors. In front of his new audience, Rudy Gobert was sparkling with 23 points and 16 rebounds.
Several times served on a set by Karl-Anthony Towns at the alley-oop, Rudy Gobert was the best player on his team, well supported by D’Angelo Russell (20 points) and Jaden McDaniels (19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists , 3 interceptions, 2 blocks) to open the season with a victory (115-108).
Clumsy with only 12 points at 2/10 on shots, Karl-Anthony Towns managed to compensate by looking for his new friend of the rackets all evening, finishing with 8 assists. The cohabitation of the twin towers therefore starts under the best auspices with this encouraging success, won despite a huge air hole in the 3rd quarter, with a 19-2 in five minutes for visitors to Oklahoma City.
These were worn by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, author of a big game with 32 points. But, like the 6/22 of the Dort – Pokusevski duo, the Thunder did not last long. Returning to -2 with 4 minutes remaining thanks to SGA, OKC will not be able to pass the course, the fault of a very good Jaylen Nowell (13 points) off the bench.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Rudy Gobert’s big night. Obviously starting in between, Rudy Gobert did not take long to distinguish himself, served immediately at the low post. If he missed his first attempt, he swallowed his own rebound to start the hostilities and open the scoring. He will also have the opportunity to shine on a nice alley-oop launched by Towns and this other dunk in the last quarter. But Gobert will be especially noticed by a gesture which is not necessarily familiar to him: an improvised “tear drop” at the buzzer of the 3rd quarter to the delight of his new fans.
“I appreciate the love from the fans, it’s really nice to see the public and the community welcoming me like this already. But it shows how much we can be a good team and how much we can also improve, it will be a process. Every evening will be an opportunity to progress. »
– The reaction of the Thunder in the 3rd quarter. With seven missed shots in a row over a period of more than 4 minutes, Wolves played with fire, suddenly dumb against the OKC defense and the impact of rookie Eugene Omoruyi in particular. Powered by SGA, the Thunder simply went 19-2 which put them back in front on the scoreboard. A feat which will not be followed by success but which gives a glimpse of hope for the young troop of Mark Daigneault.
“We have the ability to increase the intensity, but we have to do it earlier than that in the match”, will regret Josh Giddey (14 points, 11 rebounds) afterwards. “We must like this type of match, we are young players, we must love this type of atmosphere. »
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Rudy Gobert. With 23 points and 16 rebounds, the French marked his first official outing with Wolves. Better, he even managed to get the crowd up on an interception followed by a small “tear drop” at the buzzer in the 3rd quarter, when his team was in a low time. A dream start (before receiving his former team this Friday)!
✅ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. For a time this summer, we thought he would miss the start of the regular season, but the Thunder’s star point guard was indeed in gear. He even lived up to his reputation with a great attacking game, with 32 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists.
⛔ The Towns–Edwards duo. Clumsy, the two star players of Minny accumulated a 6/27 on shots, for 12 and 11 points respectively. A bad offensive evening nevertheless concluded with victory.
THE FOLLOWING
Oklahoma City (0-1): trip to Denver, Saturday.
Minnesota (1-0): reception of Utah, Friday.
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