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Thunder end Wolves’ winning streak at four games

Jan 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) dribbles the ball and looks to pass Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) plays defense in the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points on 10-for-22 shooting, and the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-97 on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

Jalen Williams finished with 20 points for Oklahoma City, which won for the sixth time in its past eight games. Chet Holmgren scored 15 points and Luguentz Dort had 14.

Karl-Anthony Towns notched 19 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota. Anthony Edwards also scored 19 points and Naz Reid contributed 18 off the bench for the Timberwolves, whose four-game winning streak ended.

The Thunder rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 4:28.

Holmgren made a dunk off a feed from Isaiah Joe to spark the late rally. Gilgeous-Alexander followed with two free throws and a jump shot to even the score at 90-90 with 3:20 left.

Edwards scored to give the Timberwolves a 94-92 edge with 2:03 to play.

Dort made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 94-93, and Gilgeous-Alexander buried a 3-pointer to put Oklahoma City on top 96-94 with 1:14 remaining. The Thunder led the rest of the way.

Minnesota led 83-74 at the end of the third quarter.

The Thunder cut the deficit to 68-65 on a pair of free throws by Holmgren with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter.

The Timberwolves responded with a 13-4 run to go ahead 81-69 with 2:45 left in the session. Edwards assisted on a 3-pointer by Nickeil Alexander-Walker and made a basket on the next time down the court to complete the run.

Oklahoma City led 57-54 at the half.

The Thunder jumped to a 21-5 lead to start the game. Dort made a 3-pointer to finish the early scoring binge.

The Timberwolves closed the first quarter with a 19-9 run to claw back within 30-24. They closed the period with nine straight points on back-to-back 3-pointers by Reid and Kyle Anderson, followed by a three-point play by Edwards.

Reid made a driving layup to give Minnesota a 33-32 lead early in the second quarter. The Timberwolves increased their lead to 46-40 with 5:05 left, but Oklahoma City closed the quarter on a 17-8 run to grab a three-point advantage.

–Field Level Media

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