Timberwolves’ depth dominates in upset of Oklahoma City

Minnesota looked destined to head into the All-Star break on a sour note.

The Wolves fell to the Bucks sans Milwaukee’s two star players Wednesday at home, which was immediately followed up by a date with the West-leading Thunder. A loss Wednesday would’ve equaled a three-game losing streak and a not-so-happy vacation for many players.

But that never came to fruition.

Minnesota was excellent in all phases, blitzing the Thunder 116-101 at Target Center.

The Timberwolves got contributions across the board. Starting at center — where Rudy Gobert was out with back spasms — Naz Reid was the highlight. He finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

Jaden McDaniels starred for segments of the game. He scored 21 points to go with six rebounds and five assists while being his usually harassing self on the defensive end.

Terrence Shannon Jr. had his second consecutive impact game, scoring 13 points to go with six rebounds off the bench in 28 minutes. His relentless attacking of the rim combined with solid defense has made him an attractive option for Timberwolves coach Chris Finch to turn to.

After a rough couple weeks in expanded opportunity, Luka Garza found his footing. He had eight points and eight rebounds in just 15 minutes. Jaylen Clark defensively held Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 6-for-21 shooting. Rob Dillingham had five assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit four triples. Anthony Edwards struggled from the field, but had eight rebounds and seven assists.

“I think everybody came in and really did something to impact winning tonight,” Finch said. “Had some amazing performances.”

Which were required against an amazing team.

The Thunder (44-10) are the presumptive team to beat in the West. Like Minnesota, they played the night prior, only in a different city. But there is no qualifier for the ways in which the Wolves (31-25) outhustled Oklahoma City on Thursday. Loose balls belonged to Minnesota.

The Wolves harassed Oklahoma City with a fly-around, multiple effort defense. Minnesota had 23 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds, despite being so small in stature given its current injuries.

Minnesota combined the effort with a smart approach, both in the way it defended and how it took care of the ball. The Wolves committed just 10 turnovers, cutting off the usual lifeblood of Oklahoma City’s patented game-changing runs. Instead, every time the Thunder punched on Thursday, Minnesota had a counter.

“We needed this win against a really good team,” Finch said. “The key to the game was taking care of the ball. We knew if we took care of the ball, we had a chance to win.”