The OKC Thunder Defeat Minnesota (102-97) In A Battle Of The Best In The West

The Oklahoma City thunder came in the Minnesota for a battle between the first place and second place teams in the Western Conference. Coming into this game. It was going to be a showdown between Shai Gilgeous, Alexander and Anthony Edwards. Both are in the top five shooting guards in the NBA today. Both teams are hungry and want to be able to prove that they deserve to be at the top of the Western Conference and this was a true test for both teams, regardless of who came out on top.

The Thunder came out first and punched Minnesota in the mouth as they came out with a lot of energy and they were able to make a lot of early buckets in this game. The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to get to the spots as a collective unit and made it tough on the Timberwolves in the first quarter. The Thunder got to every loose ball and they seem like they got every rebound in the first half. Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight as he had a game high of 33 points and he added 2 rebounds with 6 assists. The Thunder were able to play through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight as he made some tough shots down the stretch over the Minnesota Defense. Tonight was the opportunity for SGA to put the team on his back and he did that for Oklahoma City. The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t have an answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when it came to him getting to the line for free throws. SGA was getting those MVP like calls and was able to make them pay at the line. SGA made some tough buckets that had every watching in amazement. The Thunder played as a unit and even Chet Holmgren made it tough on Rudy Gobert as it looked like every time he was going for the lob he was denied by the rookie.

The Minnesota Timberwolves came out the gate with Naz Reid hitting some big shots that were able to keep them in the game. Anthony, I was said that Naz Reid the energy that night and he was able to redo that energy tonight as he finished with 18 points. The Minnesota Timberwolves only had four players in double figures, and it still came down to three points at the end of the game where Anthony Edwards missed a couple of free throwing that could’ve forced things to overtime.

Both teams are 1 & 2 in the West and it would be special to see them in the WCF.

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)