How to shoot yourself in the foot, just to shoot an already complicated match? Wolves demonstrated that tonight. Already deprived of Karl-Anthony Towns and after a not really reassuring first act (29-32), the premises lost Rudy Gobert, expelled via a Flagrant II for a gesture of humor on Kenrich Williams, then Naz Reid until the pause, a time sounded by a strong contact with his teammate Kyle Anderson.
Time for OKC to go 10-2 with the help of the Mann-Dort-Pokusevski trio (50-57) then to point to +9 after a basket in transition from Josh Giddey (54-63).
Returning to two big possessions at the break (57-63), the Wolves regained the hair of the beast by scoring the third quarter of their efficiency. The locals notably scored 16 baskets on their 19 attempts and lined up a 17-6 powered by the McLaughin – Edwards – Nowell triplet to regain the lead 12 minutes from the end (101-97).
But the worst was yet to come and OKC gave Wolves no gift in the final. After a good pass from Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the end of the third quarter, it was a 12-0 with Jalen and Kenrich Williams in charge that the Thunder took off (110-119). The Giddey-SGA pair managed to stay the course with “clutch” baskets, including the Australian’s 3-pointer in the corner on a pass from his teammate (113-125).
Luguentz Dort dealt the fatal blow on a new flash action embellished with a final stolen ball from the Canadian.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Rudy Gobert’s stroke of blood. The French pivot reacted badly after finding himself on the ground following a lay-up from Kenrich Williams at the start of the second quarter. He obviously did not appreciate the sweet words of the Thunder winger, causing the latter to pick himself up in the wake of a trip. What cause a beginning of scuffle. Unsportsmanlike foul, intentional and unnecessary contact = Flagrant II. Thank you goodbye.
– A matter of desire. Several actions have highlighted the overflowing determination of OKC in the face of reduced Wolves. There were the authoritative finishes near the circle late in the game, that ball snatched by Luguentz Dort to secure the victory, but also a revealing action in defense between Kenrich Williams and Naz Reid. The winger challenged the pivot by provoking him repeatedly, causing him to lose control of the ball for a moment to finally throw himself to the ground and manage to send him into touch. Minnesota didn’t lose the ball, just a little time on possession, but this streak perfectly illustrated the “starved to death” attitude of SGA and his teammates. At this level, that’s also what makes the difference.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Kenrich Williams. The big winner of the match since his provocation had the “merit” of sending Rudy Gobert to the shower before halftime. Besides that, he was quite good, effective in attack and energetic in defense.
✅ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The metronome. Imperturbable at free throws, he grew in power over the course of the match to end up with a show of force in the “money-time”, between his baskets and his assists to definitively change the match.
⛔️ Wolves stray bullets. Overall, the two teams lost a lot of balls, but those (23) committed by Minnesota were expensive, offering 34 points to an Oklahoma City team that was just waiting for it. Anthony Edwards (5), D’Angelo Russell (4) and Kyle Anderson (4) are the main culprits.
THE FOLLOWING
Minnesota (11-12): short break for the Wolves who will not play again until Wednesday, at home against Indiana (02:00 a.m.)
Oklahoma City (10-13): the Thunder continues its road-trip on the Atlanta side this Monday evening (01:30 a.m.)
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