The Oklahoma City Thunder has won 7 straight games—all by double digits—and they get the opportunity to extend that streak on Thursday night as they take on Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis. Both teams are playing in the second game of a back-to-back, but Minnesota benefits from playing at home for both.
After a slow start in OKC last night against the Miami Heat, the Thunder roared back from 21 down in the first half to come away with a 115-101 victory. A 24-0 run to start the fourth quarter cut OKC’s 11-point deficit and flipped the script to put them firmly in control down the stretch. OKC is no stranger to trailing early, but they are a team that plays hard for all four quarters, and it has proven to be too much for opposing teams more often than not.
Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Timberwolves have had a disappointing season thus far, at least by their standards. After trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle in the offseason, the Wolves have gone from one of the teams in the discussion to win the Western Conference to fighting for a playoff spot. At 30-25, Minnesota is 1 game back from the LA Clippers for 6th in the West, but the Timberwolves are just 3.5 games ahead of being knocked out of even a play-in spot.
The Thunder and the Timberwolves have plenty of history, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Anthony Edwards is almost certainly to be a fun battle. It can be easy for teams to slide in the All-Star break lacking focus and needing rest, but this game might have a little more edge as division rivals go head-to-head in a nationally televised game.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Target Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Television: TNT
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: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Timberwolves
- PG: Mike Conley
- SG: Anthony Edwards
- SF: Jaden McDaniels
- PF: Naz Reid
- C: Rudy Gobert
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (strained left hip) is OUT.
- Ousmane Dieng (strained right soleus) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Ajay Mitchell (sprained right great toe) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
- Cason Wallace (strained right shoulder) is QUESTIONABLE.
Timberwolves
- Mike Conley (sprained right index finger) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Donte DiVincenzo (sprained left great toe) is OUT.
- Jesse Edwards (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Julius Randle (strained right groin) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 39-24 against the Timberwolves (20-11 at home, 19-13 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 3 times, and tied it 3 times.
- The Thunder went 2-2 against the Timberwolves last season (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- So far this season, the Thunder is 1-0 against the Timberwolves (1-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).