Game ID: 22300411
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 40 26 36 27 129MIN 35 25 31 15 106
MIN @ OKC ScoutingMIN @ OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
OKC availability going into 12/16 · 1 day's restBACK Micić back 12/11 after 6, 16 min since (133% of 12)
BACK Dieng back 12/11 after 4, 18 min since (183% of 10)
OKC availability going into 12/18 · 1 day's restOUT Micić missed 2 since 12/14, returns tonight: 7 min (61% of 12)
BACK Dieng back 12/11 after 4, 14 min since (138% of 10)
OKC availability going into 12/21 · 2 days' restBACK Micić back 12/11 after 6, 12 min since (97% of 12)
BACK Dieng back 12/11 after 4, 15 min since (151% of 10)
OKC availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restBACK Micić back 12/11 after 6, 12 min since (97% of 12)
BACK Dieng back 12/11 after 4, 14 min since (136% of 10)
OKC availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Micić missed 2 since 12/21, returns tonight: 16 min (133% of 12)
OKC availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backBACK Micić back 12/18 after 2, 12 min since (97% of 12)
OKC availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 2 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Micić back 12/18 after 2, 12 min since (97% of 12)
OKC availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 3 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Micić back 12/26 after 2, 15 min since (124% of 12)
OKC availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 4 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Micić back 12/26 after 2, 14 min since (117% of 12)
MIN availability going into 12/18 · 1 day's restBACK Edwards back 12/06 after 2, 27 min since (76% of 36)
BACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 23 min since (76% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 5 min since (43% of 11)
NEW Brown Jr. 11 to 23 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restBACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 25 min since (82% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 5 min since (43% of 11)
NEW Brown Jr. 11 to 19 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backBACK McDaniels back 12/11 after 8, 27 min since (91% of 30)
BACK McLaughlin back 12/11 after 15, 4 min since (37% of 11)
MIN availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 12/28 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restNEW McDaniels 30 to 35 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Milton missed 2 since 12/28, out tonight
OUT McLaughlin missed 2 since 12/28, returns tonight: 12 min (109% of 11)
MIN availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Milton missed 3 since 12/28, returns tonight: 3 min (25% of 13)
BACK McLaughlin back 1/01 after 2, 12 min since (109% of 11)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Holmgren at 18 a game. 2 days' rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Towns at 26 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 41 percent from three to OKC's 35 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 14 times a game to OKC's 11. Call it OKC 116, Minnesota 114, Minnesota keeping it close.
12/16 @ DEN 118-117 — OKC notes
OKC won 118-117. OKC shot 51% (43 of 84) to DEN's 45%, 7 of 21 from three, and went to the line 30 times to DEN's 24 — 25 points from the stripe to their 21. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 25 (9 of 20, 7 of 8 at the line); Jal. Williams added 24, Holmgren 17. The hinge was Q4, 33-30: OKC came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 1. OKC trailed 54-56 at the half and won the second half 64-61. Joe was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/18 vs MEM 116-97 — OKC notes
OKC won 116-97. OKC shot 46% (42 of 92) to MEM's 35%, 11 of 36 from three. OKC turned it over 12 times to MEM's 22. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 30 (8 of 18, 1 of 3 from three, 13 of 14 at the line); Holmgren added 17, Giddey 16. The hinge was Q3, 26-13: a lead of 15 became 28, and the lead reached 31. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
12/21 vs LAC 134-115 — OKC notes
OKC won 134-115. OKC shot 59% (51 of 87) to LAC's 47%, 16 of 34 from three, and went to the line 18 times to LAC's 12 — 16 points from the stripe to their 10. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (11 of 25, 1 of 6 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Holmgren added 23, Dort 21. The hinge was Q3, 45-33: a lead of 5 became 17, and the lead reached 20. Jal. Williams was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/23 vs LAL 120-129 — OKC notes
OKC lost 120-129. OKC shot 48% (46 of 95) to LAL's 52%, 13 of 41 from three. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 34 (12 of 21, 1 of 5 from three, 9 of 10 at the line); Jal. Williams added 28, Holmgren 19. Q4 was theirs, 29-22, the deficit cut from 16 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 107-91 against them. Joe's -20 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/26 vs MIN 129-106 — OKC notes
OKC won 129-106. OKC shot 60% (49 of 81) to MIN's 47%, 18 of 39 from three, and got to the line 16 times to MIN's 32. OKC turned it over 11 times to MIN's 21. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 34 (14 of 19, 0 of 3 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Jal. Williams added 21, Dort 20. The hinge was Q4, 27-15: a lead of 11 became 23. Giddey was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
12/27 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Holmgren at 19 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Randle at 25 a game. Without Robinson (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 113 a night to New York's 121 and the arc, OKC at 38 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it OKC 120, New York 115.
12/29 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Murray at 25 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and OKC minus-3 and the defense, Denver allowing 107 a night to OKC's 113. Call it Denver 117, OKC 116, OKC keeping it close.
12/31 vs BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 113, shooting 54 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 35 and Jal. Williams at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 31 free throws a game; Cam. Johnson at 19 and Bridges at 18 a game. Without Simmons (25 straight), Walker IV (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the line, where Brooklyn takes 31 free throws a game to OKC's 18 and the arc, OKC at 40 percent from three to Brooklyn's 35. Call it OKC 122, Brooklyn 114.
1/02 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Tatum at 28 and Porziņģis at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and OKC minus-1 and the line, where Boston takes 25 free throws a game to OKC's 19. Call it OKC 119, Boston 118, Boston keeping it close.
12/18 @ MIA 112-108 — MIN notes
MIN won 112-108. MIN shot 49% (42 of 85) to MIA's 47%, 11 of 29 from three. Edwards led with 32 (13 of 25, 2 of 9 from three); Towns added 18, Conley 14. The hinge was Q4, 35-25: MIN came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 4. MIN trailed 54-65 at the half and won the second half 58-43. Alexander-Walker was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
12/20 @ PHI 113-127 — MIN notes
MIN lost 113-127. MIN shot 51% (42 of 82) to PHI's 54%, 9 of 25 from three, and got to the line 24 times to PHI's 32. MIN turned it over 18 times to PHI's 12, and PHI turned those into 9 steals. Edwards led with 27 (9 of 20, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 23, McDaniels 21. Q3 was theirs, 27-26, the deficit cut from 4 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 101-86 against them. Reid's -27 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 vs LAL 118-111 — MIN notes
MIN won 118-111. MIN shot 48% (42 of 87) to LAL's 49%, 14 of 36 from three. Edwards led with 27 (9 of 19, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 21, Conley 16. The hinge was Q1, 36-32: from level to 4 ahead. Towns was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/23 @ SAC 110-98 — MIN notes
MIN won 110-98. MIN shot 51% (44 of 87) to SAC's 44%, 10 of 33 from three, and got to the line 14 times to SAC's 21. Edwards led with 34 (13 of 27, 3 of 12 from three); Gobert added 21, McDaniels 20. The hinge was Q1, 28-20: from level to 8 ahead, and the lead reached 22. Conley was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
12/26 @ OKC 106-129 — MIN notes
MIN lost 106-129. MIN shot 47% (34 of 73) to OKC's 60%, 12 of 27 from three, and went to the line 32 times to OKC's 16 — 26 points from the stripe to their 13. MIN turned it over 21 times to OKC's 11, and OKC turned those into 9 steals. Edwards led with 25 (7 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 9 of 13 at the line); Conley added 17, Towns 16. Q2 was theirs, 25-26, but the other 3 periods went 103-81 against them. Edwards's -16 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/28 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Towns at 20 a game. One day's rest. Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Dončić at 39 and Hardaway Jr. at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Irving (10 straight), Kleber (23 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and Dallas minus-9 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 16 times a game to Dallas's 10. Call it Minnesota 117, Dallas 113, Dallas keeping it close.
12/30 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Towns at 18 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; Davis at 28 and James at 24 a game. Without Vincent (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to the Lakers' 12 and the line, where Minnesota takes 26 free throws a game to the Lakers' 19. Call it Minnesota 116, the Lakers 113, the Lakers keeping it close.
1/01 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 128, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Randle at 28 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Robinson (11 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; Edwards at 32 and Gobert at 16 a game. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 111 a night to New York's 128 and the arc, Minnesota at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it Minnesota 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
1/03 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 34 and Towns at 16 a game. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 104, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Williamson at 22 and Ingram at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Murphy III (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, New Orleans allowing 104 a night to Minnesota's 111 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to New Orleans's 14. Call it Minnesota 112, New Orleans 110, New Orleans keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IJ I. Joe
JG J. Giddey
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
MI Micic
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
VM V. Micić
MINAE A. Edwards
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. McLaughlin
JM J. Minott
KA K. Anderson
KT K. Towns
LM L. Miller
MC M. Conley
MI Milton
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RG R. Gobert
TB T. Brown Jr.
WM W. Moore Jr.
OKC/MIN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 34 as Thunder beat Timberwolves 129-106
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, Jalen Williams added 21 and the Oklahoma City Thunder made 18 shots from 3-point range Tuesday night in a 129-106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves .
Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort each added 20 points for the Thunder (19-9), who went 18 for 39 (46.2%) on 3s and forced 24 Minnesota turnovers that led to 23 points.
“I think we played together on both ends of the floor, for the most part,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished 14 of 19 from the field and dished out a team-high nine assists. “When we do that and trust that, things go our way, usually.”
Dort was 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City shot 60.5% from the field and led by as many as 25 in the second half of its sixth victory in eight games.
“I thought we really were intelligent with our attacks,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “They’re a really hard team to crack, obviously, and you’ve got to be really intentional, and I thought our guys did a great job executing."
Anthony Edwards had 25 points to pace Minnesota (22-7). Mike Conley added 17 and Karl-Anthony Towns had 16.
Towns missed Minnesota’s 110-98 win over Sacramento on Saturday with soreness in his left knee. He entered Tuesday night averaging 22.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
Josh Giddey returned to the starting lineup for the Thunder after missing a game with a left ankle sprain. He had 10 points and seven assists.
The Thunder led 86-76 with 6:27 left in the third quarter when Holmgren picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench.
Giddey sat with three fouls about two minutes later, but OKC increased its lead to 95-83 on a basket by Gilgeous-Alexander with 2:43 left. Another 3 by Dort — his fifth of the game — following a steal by Cason Wallace made 98-83, the Thunder’s largest lead to that point.
But back came Minnesota, which cut it to 100-91 on a 3 by Nickeil Alexander-Walker , who is Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin. That was as close as the Timberwolves got.
"I just thought we had great intensity,” Daigneault said. “I thought both teams were outscoring each other in the first period of the game. As the game wore on, we tightened on that end of the floor. Really in the second half did a great job, too. And I thought the turnovers were a byproduct of that.”
Williams made consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth to extend the Thunder's lead to 108-91 with 9:51 remaining.
Oklahoma City led 66-60 at halftime after the teams combined to make 16 3-pointers, including nine by the Thunder.
OKC led by 10 in the second quarter following back-to-back 3s by Dort with 3:30 remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City, which shot 57.1% in the first two quarters, with 16 points at the break. Williams added 15 points and Dort had 11.
Edwards led the Timberwolves — who shot 53.8% from 3-point range (7 of 13) — with 14 first-half points.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.