Anthony Edwards scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 116-106 win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.
The Timberwolves led by as many 18 early, but the Thunder steadily cut the deficit to as little as one by late in the third quarter.
But Minnesota scored the final seven points of the third, then extended its run to 31-10 in the first six minutes of the fourth to firmly take control once again.
The fourth quarter run was fueled by the Timberwolves’ bench, with Edwards the only starter on the floor.
With the bench putting Minnesota up big on the first night of a back-to-back, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was able to leave the rest of the Timberwolves’ starters, including Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, on the bench for the remainder of the game.
In Wednesday’s season-opening win over the Thunder, Edwards struggled, going just 4-for-17 from the floor with 11 points.
However, he got off to a hot start Sunday, making 6 of 7 in the first quarter with 12 points and four rebounds as the Timberwolves built a 31-13 lead late in the quarter.
Edwards finished 13 of 19 from the floor, scoring 30 points for the second consecutive game.
Gobert added 15 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota, while Towns also scored 15. Gobert was 7-for-8 from inside the arc.
The Thunder were without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who suffered a hip contusion late in Saturday’s loss to Denver.
Midway through the third quarter, Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey left the game with a right ankle sprain.
Luguentz Dort led the Thunder with 20 points, but was just 6 of 15 from the field. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 15 points.
Eugene Omoruyi added 13 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, equaling his total scoring output of his first six NBA games. All of Omoruyi’s points came in the fourth.
–Field Level Media