The Oklahoma City Thunder continues to do the unthinkable as they now are just one win away from earning a spot in the NBA Playoffs. It wasn’t too long ago before the Thunder was in the early stages of their third straight season of tanking, but it didn’t take long for everyone to see just what this team was made of. Fast forward to present day, and OKC is fresh off a 123-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in their first play-in game.
Oklahoma City has well surpassed expectations, but another win and a playoff berth would be even better. Tonight in Minnesota, the Thunder will take on the Timberwolves, a division rival who has gotten the better of OKC in recent history. The Wolves own 7 wins over the Thunder in the last 8 tries, but the four games played between these two teams this season were decided by an average of just 6.5 points.
Minnesota has home court advantage, veteran experience, and a height advantage on OKC, but the Thunder has a youthful energy and team camaraderie like no other team in the league. Expect another exciting play-in game as these two teams do battle in a high stakes game of win or go home.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: Target Center
Television: ESPN
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Minnesota Timberwolves Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Jaylin Williams
Timberwolves
- PG: Mike Conley
- SG: Anthony Edwards
- SF: Kyle Anderson
- PF: Karl Anthony-Towns
- C: Rudy Gobert
Injury Report
Thunder
- Chet Holmgren is OUT (right foot surgery).
- Aleksej Pokusevski is OUT (left knee contusion).
- Kenrich Williams is OUT (scapholunate ligament surgery in left wrist).
Timberwolves
- Rudy Gobert is QUESTIONABLE (back spasms).
- Jaden McDaniels is OUT (fractured right hand).
- Jaylen Nowell is QUESTIONABLE (left knee tendinopathy).
- Naz Reid is OUT (fractured left scaphoid).
- Karl Anthony-Towns is QUESTIONABLE (strained right calf).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 36-21 against the Timberwolves (18-10 at home, 18-11 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the 4-game regular season series against the Timberwolves 9 times, lost it twice, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 0-4 against the Timberwolves last season (0-2 at home, 0-2 on the road).
- The Thunder is 1-3 against the Timberwolves so far this season (0-2 at home, 1-1 on the road).