Minnesota Timberwolves down Oklahoma City Thunder 99-93; snap their 12 game winning streak: NBA Recap
Minnesota Timberwolves cooled off the hot Oklahoma City Thunder 99-93 here at the Target Center on Thursday night, snapping Thunder's 12 game winning streak.
"A very good win against the best team in the West. What I really liked about it is how we played four quarters. ... We knew they were going to make a run at us, but we got some stops and made some shots down the stretch. Just
a terrific win for our guys." said the Minnesota coach Rick Adelman.
Kevin Love was sensational for the Wolves. The power forward finished off with 28 points 11 rebounds and 7 assists on the night. Nikola Pekovic collected the second double-double for the Timberwolves as he gathered 24 points and
grabbed 10 rebounds while Alexey Shved also gave a full court performance with 12 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds.
With Kevin Martin out due to a Quad Contusion, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have been contributing the chunk of Thunder scoring off late and tonight was no different. Durant scored a game-high 33 points to go along with 7
rebounds and 6 assists while Russell Westbrook fell one assist shy of a triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
Minnesota gained the advantage right from the start and never surrendered their lead throughout the game. The only time the score was tied was on 3 early in the first period. Minnesota were red hot early on and went on rampage
with a 17-4 run to jump up 20-7. The Wolves kept the scoreboard running with some shots from distance and were leading 30-18 by the end of the quarter.
Derrick Williams made a jumper early in the second period to put the Wolves up by 36-23 and they maintained a healthy lead over Thunder throughout the quarter. Love made a jump shot midway around the quarter to put the Wolves up
38-25, and the Thunder were trailing 44-53 at halftime.
Interestingly enough, Thunder outscored the Wolves in all the periods other than the first, but they could not overcome the deficit. Oklahoma City made it 54-59 early in the third period, but the Wolves having led for all of the
game were not willing to let go of the advantage that easy, and were leading 76-69 by the end of the quarter.
Thunder kept coming back and made it a one point game early in the fourth period. Jose Barea fired two back to back 3 pointers and a duece to put the Wolves up by 88-77. The shooting from three point land kept the Wolves in the
games as they shot 45 percent from downtown compared to 25 percent by the Thunder. Love then made a layup to put the Wolves ahead on 96-84 with 3:15 in the regulation, which very much sealed the deal.
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