The Minnesota Timberwolves (10-8) have now lost three straight contests after falling short against the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-1) on Thursday in a tight matchup between two heavyweights in the Western Conference. Despite the Wolves playing excellent basketball against the reigning champs and another scoring outburst from Anthony Edwards, Minnesota was still unable to catch a break—all because of one simple issue.
Minnesota Could Have Won if Only They Had Made Their Free-Throws
The Timberwolves were dead awful in the first two quarters but were still lucky to be just trailing within ten points at the half against the NBA’s best defensive team, 49-39. Fortunately, Edwards turned up the heat and scored 25 of his 31 points in the second half, including all five triples, allowing them to at least keep the game close. However, it seems that Ant-Man is the only Wolves player who could get into his rhythm. Julius Randle only had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and shot an abysmal 2-for-13 from the field. Only Terrence Shannon Jr. had the juice to score after raking in 18 points in 17 minutes off the bench.
However, the Wolves’ biggest flaw is not that Ant-Man was the only guy who could put the ball in the basket, nor was it due to Randle’s off night against OKC—it was their 15 missed shots from the charity stripes that cost them the game. Minnesota was 22-for-37 from the line, which would have certainly put them up in a game where they only lost by eight (113-105). Once again, the Wolves failed to close it out, and their lackluster free-throw shooting negated Edwards’ superb performance, who has accumulated 115 points in his last three games.
OKC Showing Top-Tier Defense but Surprisingly Sub-Par Offense
The Thunder virtually lead every single defensive stat in the NBA right now, and one might argue they have the best defensive rotation in the league so far this season. With a healthy Lu Dort and Alex Caruso guarding the perimeter and Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren towering in the paint, nothing seems to get past them.
Their offense is just as immaculate as their defense, all thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s actively trying to defend his MVP title. However, against the Timberwolves, the Thunder seems to be missing something. Indeed, SGA recorded another efficient 40-point game, but aside from him, nobody on that team was half as good at scoring. Though they were successful in shutting down Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Donte DiVincenzo, OKC’s worse-than-usual offense was probably the reason the Wolves almost came away with a win and would have tarnished their NBA cup record.
Eventually, Oklahoma holds on to the victory and is now one win away from securing a spot in the In-Season tournament.
