Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN | Game ID: 22400820
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIN 23 40 33 27 123OKC 35 26 42 27 130
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West-leading Thunder outlast Timberwolves 130-123 behind 37 points from Gilgeous-Alexander
MINNEAPOLIS -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals to help the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 130-123 on Sunday night to open a home-and-home set.
The teams will play again Monday night in Oklahoma City.
Chet Holmgren added 19 points for the Thunder, who shot a season-best 54% (19 for 35) from 3-point range.
Gilgeous-Alexander re-entered the game with eight minutes left and sparked an 18-4 spurt over the next 5:16 after his cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker , hit a 3-pointer that put the Timberwolves up 110-105.
Anthony Edwards had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Timberwolves (31-27), who wiped out a 19-point deficit in the second quarter before losing for the fourth time in five games.
The Thunder (46-10) have lost only once in the last 25 days, when they fell in Minnesota on Feb. 13 . Oklahoma City has a 9 1/2-game lead over Denver and Memphis for the Western Conference lead.
Takeaways Thunder: Aaron Wiggins and Alex Caruso were vital off the bench. Caruso hit three 3-pointers and had steal to set up a 3-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander over a 2:47 stretch midway through the fourth quarter.
Timberwolves: Missing the starting frontcourt, Rudy Gobert (back) and Julius Randle (groin), the Timberwolves lost Jaylen Clark in the third quarter when he hit the back of his head on the floor after an off-balance layup. Clark, who made his second career start, was ruled out with neck pain.
Key moment After the Thunder went up 52-33 by making 19 of their first 27 shots, the Timberwolves had a 25-4 run over a 6:07 stretch. With Holmgren on him at the top of the key, Edwards used a crossover dribble and a slight step-back for his first made 3-pointer of the game with 2:36 left in the second quarter.
Key stat The Timberwolves missed 11 of their first 12 attempts from 3-point range.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAC A. Caruso
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IH I. Hartenstein
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
MINAE A. Edwards
JC J. Clark
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. Minott
LG L. Garza
MC M. Conley
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RD R. Dillingham
TS T. Shannon 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
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