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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (#2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives toward the rim in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 20, 2024. /CFP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (#2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives toward the rim in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 20, 2024. /CFP
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-97 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, beating the Western Conference leaders twice out of their three meetings this season.
Both teams fully displayed their character in the game. The Thunder, as one of the best teams int he league at turning opponents' mistakes into easy buckets in transitional offense, had 12 steals and forced 21 turnovers by the Timberwolves in the game, which translated into 28 points, including 15 fast break points.
By contrast, the Timberwolves, which prefer a slow, half-court game, especially on defense, limited the Thunder to shooting 32-for-81 from the field. Rudy Gobert always left Josh Giddey open outside the 3-point line to stay committed to protecting the paint. He grabbed s many as 18 rebounds by himself.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (#2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 20, 2024. /CFP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (#2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 20, 2024. /CFP
The Thunder shot as poorly as 8-for-24 from downtown on Saturday night, failing to punish the opponents' defensive policy of closing in. As a result, they had to continuously charge the rim from the front. Though they missed a lot of shots due to long arm deflections by Gobert, Naz Reed and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Thunder caused enough damage with 35 free throws.
The Timberwolves' major offensive advantage came off the bench. Reed alone outscored the whole backup unit of the opponents 18-15. He knocked down four triples out of eight attempts and had four blocks. He, Jaden McDaniels and Jordan McLaughlin combined to go 9-for-16 behind the arc, making up for Mike Conley's underperformance of shooting 1-for-9 outside the 3-point line.
The efforts of both two sides' role players made Saturday's game a level contest. Therefore, it fell on the two team's aces, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and Anthony Edwards to decide the result with their individual abilities.
Anthony Edwards (L) of the Minnesota Timberwolves penetrates in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 20, 2024. /CFP Anthony Edwards (L) of the Minnesota Timberwolves penetrates in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 20, 2024. /CFP
SGA was the winner in the end. He made 10 of his 22 field goal (FG) attempts and 12 of his 13 free throws to score court-high 33 points. In the decisive fourth quarter, he attacked every defender put in front him and contributed 11 of the Thunder's 28 points in this period. His poor jump shooting touch from the third quarter didn't discourage him from firing with resolution when he saw the chance because he had to do what the team needed the most from him in that situation: scoring regardless of defense.
By contrast, Edwards had a lot to learn from Saturday's loss. He went as accurately as 60 percent from the field, but taking only 10 shots was too little for a played of his caliber in a close game like this. He was obviously trying very hard to be a complete player who could not only score, but also get his teammates involved in offense, but he went to far and forgot what his biggest duty was. Delivering five assists with five turnovers was one thing, dishing out to Conley, who had missed seven of his eight 3-pointers before that play, in the final moments of the game was hardly the right call.
Of course, Edwards' biggest mistake on Saturday night was missing all three of his free throws when the Timberwolves trailed 100-97 in the final 3.4 seconds. Pressure began to catch him after he missed the first shot and then blew his mind as his second shot failed to fall into the net. Perhaps he intentionally missed the third free throw for the team to go for a desperate rebound, but he should have known that the ball must hit the rim or there would be no rebound.
Damian Lillard (#0) of ther Milwaukee Bucks shoots in the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, January 20, 2024. /CFP Damian Lillard (#0) of ther Milwaukee Bucks shoots in the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, January 20, 2024. /CFP
Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):
Milwaukee Bucks 141-135 Detroit Pistons
The Bucks avoided their second straight loss thanks to the dominant performances of their star duo, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Lillard dropped 45 points, the highest since he joined the Bucks, in addition to six rebounds and 11 assists. Antetokounmpo got 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He and Lillard combined to earn 38 free throws. Their team led 49-35 on the front over the Pistons.
The Pistons missed Cade Cunningham in Saturday's game. Both Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jaden Ivey from the starting lineup were in poor form, but the team's bench squad kept the game close with excellent performance. Alec Burks, Ausar Thompson, Mike Muscala, Marcus Sasser and Danilo Gallinari outscored their Bucks counterpart 85-18.
Victor Wembanyama (#1) of the San Antonio Spurs blocks a shot by Marvin Bagley III of the Washington Wizards in the game at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., January 20, 2024. /CFP Victor Wembanyama (#1) of the San Antonio Spurs blocks a shot by Marvin Bagley III of the Washington Wizards in the game at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., January 20, 2024. /CFP
San Antonio Spurs 131-127 Washington Wizards
The Spurs overcame a 12-point deficit in the final minutes at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Saturday to end their four-game winning streak. Rookie Victor Wembanyama contributed 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six blocks for his side to win. He made a big-time 3-pointer at 2:02 in the fourth period to tie the score at 121 and grabbed a valuable rebound when there were 20.3 seconds left, forcing the opponents to foul on Tre Jones to send him to the free throw line.
Jones made both shots to extend the Spurs' lead to three points (130-127) before Devin Vassell drained another free throw in the next possession to seal the deal.
Philadelphia 76ers 97-89 Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers 116-95 Atlanta Hawks
Toronto Raptors 100-126 New York Knicks
Memphis Grizzlies 96-125 Chicago Bulls
Utah Jazz 126-127 Houston Rockets
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