The meeting between the leader of the Western Conference from last season and his successor kept all its promises. Above all, it made it possible to confirm the current trend which makes Oklahoma City the great scarecrow of this start of the year. The Wolves, like many others before them, paid the price, particularly in the second half, unable to stop Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who walked on water until the end and carried all his teammates with him. him in the wave.
Determined to spoil the party, Minnesota took the upper hand in the first half, imposing an iron defense to keep the Eastern Conference leader at just 46 points at the break. While the Edwards-Reid-Randle trio had control of the game, the famous lieutenants of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled to show themselves. And to make matters worse, OKC was shooting 3/19 from afar after two quarters (46-52).
The Wolves seemed to be on the right end when Mike Conley made a 3/3 3-pointer, including his last shot with the help of the board to increase the gap to +12 (53-65). And then everything suddenly changed. Mark Daigneault's men first regained control of the match thanks to their defense. And everything gradually fell back into place. Jalen Williams set the tone with two big defensive sequences including an interception on Julius Randle to allow SGA to have a dunk in transition. It was then Naz Reid who was pushed back beyond 24 seconds of possession before being punished by 3-pointers from Kenrich Williams and Jalen Williams to complete a 13-0 and allow the locals to regain the lead ( 66-65)!
The Wolves held on
The Thunder did not stop there, multiplying defensive stops to widen the gap, causing lost balls and interceptions thanks to a lot of activity. On the other side of the field, with the help of Isaiah Joe and Luguentz Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a real recital until the end of the third quarter, with a 2+1 after having played Naz Reid, two other baskets from close range and above all two 3-point arrows including a stepback on the head of Julius Randle. Completely disoriented, the Wolves ended the third act at -14, after a last basket from SGA one second from the end (89-75).
It still remained to finish the job well, which was not so easy against 3-pointers from Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels, and also a newfound defense from Minnesota. Donte DiVincenzo completely calmed the Paycom Center with another 3-pointer which put Chris Finch's men back at -4 with less than 4 minutes remaining (103-99). Under pressure for two minutes, OKC was finally released by the inevitable SGA with a 3-pointer on a pass from Jalen Williams to reach the 40-point mark (109-103).
A final bad connection between Donte DiVincenzo and Rudy Gobert then an interception by Jaylen Williams in the hands of Naz Reid for a dunk on the counter-attack ended the last hopes of Minnesota, finally beaten 113-105 in the regular game.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Five minutes of pure madness. Sometimes it doesn't take much to change a match and collapse an entire dynamic. In this case, while the Wolves seemed in a good position, at +10, it was a missed dunk from Rudy Gobert, yet completely alone, which sparked the revolt of the opposite camp. Luguentz Dort then punished the Frenchman with a 3-pointer in the corner on the next possession, and everything heated up afterwards, with a 22-3 passed in less than 5 minutes which completely changed the course of the match. That's more points than the 21 scored by OKC in the first quarter! Five minutes of pure madness during which the Thunder chained defensive stops before improving them almost every time on the other side of the field, and which confirmed the exceptional talent of SGA, who walked on water until the end of a one-sided quarter.
– Exceptional SGA. OKC was not leading at halftime, bothered by the defensive challenge imposed by Minnesota before revolting. At the heart of this crazy “comeback” in the third quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the opportunity to confirm his position, carrying his team with determination and impressive efficiency with 19 points over the period, until putting the Wolves KO with a final 3-pointer in money time.
– Record series of victories equaled. The Thunder are now at 12 victories in the regular season (apart from the defeat in the NBA Cup final against the Bucks), equaling the franchise record established between November 24 and December 19, 2012. Another era, when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant reigned supreme in Oklahoma. This Thunder had also ended its series against the Wolves of… JJ Barea, Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic. The OKC team version 2024-2025 will have the opportunity to extend its great series when it hosts the Clippers tomorrow evening.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
