Oklahoma City Thunder 95 vs 120 Minnesota Timberwolves summary: stats and highlights | Play-In
The T'Wolves are headed to the NBA Playoffs as the 8 seed and will set up a juicy matchup with the top seeded Denver Nuggets.
One more time for good measure, it was Anderson to Gobert for the alley oop just to ensure that they have left what happened on Sunday in the past.
Gobert had a massive game in his comeback from suspension, getting 21 points and 10 boards in the win.
Minnesota led by 10 or more for most of the second half, and this five point sequence from Edwards was what pushed the Thunder over the edge.
KAT did a little bit of everything on Friday night, and ended the game with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Anderson ended the night with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists including this one right here to Alexander-Walker who had 12 points in his first start for the Timberwolves.
And here you see the two that made news for all the wrong reasons last Sunday, combining for a fast break alley oop.
Kyle Anderson was involved in the timeout scuffle with Rudy Gobert but both of those two put the incident behind them to help the T'Wolves advance through the Play-In Game.
When shots like this go down, you had to know it was the T'Wolves night. KAT was fantastic throughout and Minnesota will need more of that in the first round of the playoffs against the Nuggets.
Conely was almost the reason the T'Wolves advanced in the first Play-In game with his three late FTs. This time he got three the old fashioned way.
Anthony Edwards had a night to forget in LA, but rebounded with a great night infront of his home fans in a must win game.
Karl-Anthony Towns was incredible against the Lakers on Tuesday and got started just like he left off on Friday night.
Alexander-Walker is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's cousin and he got the game started with the opening bucket of the night. He could be the cousin moving on to the playoffs by the end of the 48 minutes.
IT'S ALL OVER!!! THE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES ARE CLINCH THE 8TH SEED IN THE PLAYOFFS AFTER THEIR BLOWOUT WIN OVER THE THUNDER!!!
Dieng gets to the bucket again, and that will be the last bucket of the game.
Rivers with a drive and finish with 2 minutes to go.
Dieng gets the lay up to go.
Minott gets the lay up for five quick points off the bench.
Robinson-Earl knocks down a three ball as the Thunder starters are off the floor as well.
Minott drills a three as the MIN bench players are going to finish off this game.
MIN takes a timeout with 3:53 and I'd be surprised to see any starters on the court on the other side of this break.
Wiggins hits a mid range jumper with under 5 on the clock.
KAT with the tip slam off the Conley miss and the Thunder take a timeout with 5:11 on the clock.
Dort with another three ball, but it's too late for a comeback no matter how many threes the Thunder make.
Williams comes out of the timeout and hits the three ball!
Gobert on another alley oop, this time off the pass from Edwards!
MIN are up by 29 and the Thunder will take a timeout.
Conley steps back and drills the three ball over the defender and it's all going Minnesota's way here at the Target Center!
Gobert at the line after the foul on Williams and he hits both FTs.
Alexander-Walker drills the three in the corner and he's in double figures as the T'Wolves have their largest lead of the night!
SGA with a give and go to Giddey and he gets the lay up down the lane.
Gobert with the slam off the alley oop lob from Anderson.
Gobert goes to the line to start the quarter and hits one of two FTs after the foul on Waters III.
Gobert lost it down low, got it back and made the lay up to put the T'Wolves up 17!
That's how the third quarter is going to end and the T'Wolves are knocking on the door of the playoffs.
Gobert at the line after the foul on Joe and he hits one of two FTs.
Waters III tips in the miss from SGA.
Edwards working the give and go with Anderson and he gets the lay up and then comes up with the steal on the inbound and drills a three ball!
SGA back at the line after the foul on Prince and he hits both yet again.
Prince drills a three out of the timeout to kill some of the momentum the Thunder had built up.
Joe with the slam in transition after the turnover by MIN and the Timberwolves will call a timeout up 10 with 2:20 to go in the third quarter.
SGA heading back to the line after the foul on Prince and he hits both FTs.
Edwards drills a three ball after the kick out from Prince!
SGA back to the line after the foul on Prince and he hits both FTs.
Joe on a dash to the rack and he gets the finger roll to fall.
Towns snatches the offensive rebound and gets the put back to go.
SGA at the line after the foul on Prince and he hits both FTs.
SGA with a strong drive as MIN bodies go flying and he gets the lay up to go out of the timeout.
Prince drills a three ball and the T'Wolves have their largerst lead of the game!!!
Timeout Thunder with under 5 to go in the third quarter.
KAT going back to the rack and he gets another lay up and another foul! FT is good and the T'Wolves are back up by 14.
KAT going strong to the rack on the left side and he gets the lay up and the foul on Williams! FT is good!
Williams gets the floater to drop after the pass from the other Williams.
Gobert with an easy slam after the dump down from KAT.
Giddey at the line after the foul on Edwards and he hits both FTs.
SGA is back in the game with a big swollen eye.
Dort drops a three ball to bring the Thunder back within 10, but they can't seem to cut into the lead any more than that.
Gobert at the line after the foul on Joe and he hits both FTs.
SGA took a shot on the after math of Rudy's missed dunk. The inadvertant elbow to the face sent him to the locker room and we will keep you posted on his status.
Gobery on the slam after getting his own offensive board and the Thunder need a timeout after Minnesota extends the lead back to 13.
Conley was fouled by SGA and he hits both FTs.
Dort answers back with a triple try! The three ball is keeping the Thunder in this game, and if they are going to win they need to keep up the hot shooting.
KAT strokes a three ball and that's his first long range ball of the night!
Alexander-Walker get the short deuce to drop and he's having a nice night in his first start.
WE ARE BACK IN PLAY FROM MINNESOTA!!!
Jaylin Williams starts the Thunder off with a three ball!
The MIN lead stretched to as many as 14, but the Williams duo helped cut into the lead. Jalen has 14, while Jaylen has just 3, but hit a timely three late in the half.
This is when you know you're feeling it. KAT just threw up a prayer after the spin, and got it to go and the foul. He's got 15 on the night.
Conley came up with three big FTs against the Lakers to send the game to overtime, and he's got 9 points tonight.
Edwards struggled against the Lakers, but tonight he's looking more like himself. He's got 11 tonight already.
The Thunder were up early, but then went three minutes without a bucket. With SGA on the court you know those droughts won't last too long.
Towns was fantastic in the first Play-In game against the Lakers and he started the game tonight just as hot.
Alexander-Walker is playing against his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and it was the lesser known cousin getting the first bucket of the game.
Edwards strokes his first three ball of the night to put the T'Wolves up 10 and that's going to be the final bucket of the first half!
We are headed to halftime from Minnesota and the Timberwolves have kept the Thunder at an arms distance since early in the first quarter.
SGA missed the floater, but Wiggins came crashing in for the tip slam!
COnely weaving his way into the lane and he floats one over the defense.
SGA fouled by Alexander-Walker and he drops both FTs.
Anderson running the break, and bounces passes a beauty right into the path of Alexander-Walker who got an easy lay up in transition.
Dort on the reverse after the dump off from Giddey.
Williams gets a wide open three ball to drop, and the Thunder are staying in this game thanks to the three ball.
Gobert throws down the alley oop off the lob from the guy he punched just five days ago!
SGA reappears on the scoreboard with a deep two after the step back
Gobert fouled by SGA, and that's his third of the night! The Frenchman goes to the line, but misses both FTs.
Alexander-Walker drills a three ball from the corner after the kick out from Edwards!
Williams to the line after the foul on Alexander-Walker and he hits both FTs.
Williams with back to back three balls and is he going to be the one to pull the Thunder back into this game?
Edwards lofts up a floater in traffic and gets it to drop!
Anderson spinning and laying it off the glass, and he's got double digits off the bench!
Williams hits a much needed three from the corner for the Thunder!
KAT at the line after the foul on Dort and he hits both FTs.
Timeout T'Wolves, up 11 with 7 to go in the first half.
Extra pass from Prince to Anderson and he drains the three ball in the corner! That's his second from that spot!
Edwards with the offensive board and the put back and he's having a much more productive day then he did against the Lakers.
Giddey goes coast to coast after picking up the rebound on the other end of the court.
Williams at the line after the second foul on Towns, and he hits one of two.
KAT with a spin move, lost his balance and threw up a prayer in the lane that banked off the back board and fell and he gets the foul! FT is good and Towns is in double digits and the T'Wolves are on a 10-0 run.
Conley drills the three ball off the ball screen from Gobert and the T'Wolves lead by 6!
OKC needs a timeout two minutes into this second quarter!
Towns getting into the paint and he gets the roll after the short range effort.
Towns with a deep two and he's off to a similar start he got off to in LA.
Saric start the quarter off with a floater in the lane after the dump off from Williams.
We are at the end of the first quarter, and there isn't much between these two teams. OKC went three minutes without scoring but bounced back and pulled within one to start the night.
Williams and SGA have 6 to lead the Thunder.
Towns has 6, and so does Anderson off the bench.
Waters drills the three ball from the top of the key after a couple of offensive rebounds.
Anderson drills a three ball from the corner and he's got six quick points!
SGA at the line after the foul on McLaughlin and he gets both FTs to go.
Anderson floats one down the lane and gets the foul! FT is good to open his account with a three point play.
Joe drills the three ball and that's back to back long range efforts and the game is tied up
Edwards going back to the rack and he gets the lay up to go.
Jalen Williams drills a three ball out of the timeout and ends the scoreless drought.
The Thunder call a timeout with 4:34 left in the first quarter after going on a scoreless spell over the last three minutes.
Edwards on the eurostep to the lane and he gets his night going after a terrible shooting night against the Lakers.
KAT comes out of the timeout and follows up miss from Anderson with a rebound and put back.
Conley gets the lay up to go and both teams have jumped out to a quick pace out of the gate!
MIN will take a timeout with 6:58 to go on the clock.
SGA with another mid range jumper and he's got a couple early jumpers to start his night after scoring just 7 points in the first half against the Pelicans.
KAT with back to back buckets for MIN, this time on a lay up after the Conley found him streaking to the rack.
Dort at the line after the foul on KAT and he hits one of two FTs.
KAT opens his account with a short fader from outside the paint.
Gobert drills two FTs after the foul on Dort, and he is on the board after serving his one game suspension.
SGA pulls up from the midrange and he's got his first points of the night. There will be plenty more where that came from.
Conley at the line after the foul on SGA, and he hits both FTs.
Dort drives baseline and finishes with the reverse lay up.
Williams goes into the body of KAT and hits the fade away jumper from outside the paint.
Dort was left all alone on the perimeter and he strokes the three ball to get the Thunder's night started!
Alexander-Walker is getting his first start with MIN and starts the night off with a lay up down low!
Heat heading to Round 1
The Miami Heat are moving on to the Eastern Confernce Playoffs after topping the Chicago Bulls in the battle for the 8th seed. Miami went on a 12-0 run to end the game and secure the 102-91
This is a young squad that is led by their fifth year man SGA, but don't sleep on Josh Giddey. and the Wiliams duo. Will this be the five that takes the Thunder back tot he Playoffs?
Gobert back in the lineup
It was the punch heard round the world. The talk of the final day of the regular season wasn’t postseason positioning, it was the jab that the Frenchman threw at Kyle Anderson, that resulted in Rudy Gobert’s one game suspension for the game against the LA Lakers. He made a public apology on Twitter, and will be back for the T’Wolves tonight in this all important game against the Pelicans. The T’Wolves big man is averring 11.6 rebounds a game which is fifth best in the league, and will be a welcomed addition down low for Minnesota tonight against the Thunder.
What’s next
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Timberwolves on Wednesday to secure the seven seed in the West and set up a sensational series with the Memphis Grizzlies. That means there is just one spot left in the Western Conference. The winner of tonight will advance to the first round of the playoffs to take on the top seeded Denver Nuggets as the 8 seed.
Towns is the T’Wolves main man
Karl-Anthony Towns was incredible for the first 30 minutes of the game against the Lakers, but he picked up his fourth foul late in the third quarter and his fifth with more than 9 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. With no Gobert or McDaniels on Wednesday night, Towns had to do it all on a night when Anthony Edwards couldn’t buy a bucket. Tonight the big man who is averaging almost 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists has to big just has impactful as he was in LA if the T’Wolves want to advance to the first round of the playoffs.
Shai looking to put on a show
The Thunder make no secret of who their main weapon is on the offensive end. They know, basketball fans know, and their opposition knows but stopping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a whole other story. He ended the season scoring 31.4 points a game which was good enough for fourth in the league, and tonight it will be on his shoulders. If the Thunder advance to the playoffs, it will be because of SGA.
Thunder survive in New Orleans
OKC was locked in a tight battle with the New Orleans Pelicans for all 48 minutes in the 9 vs. 10 match up, and were up by 10 just before the final quarter. Their inexperience in these situations showed in the final 12 minutes of the game as they let the lead slip at the hands of Brandon Ingram and his 30 points, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the wheel and steed the ship towards an all or nothing game tonight with 32 points after a terrible start to the game. He had just 7 points in the first half, but caught fire in the second half, scoring 25 and earning thing young Thunder side the opportunity to Die Another Day as James Bond would put it.
Wolves lose a heartbreaker in LA
The Minnesota Timberwolves jumped out to an early lead against the Lakers on Wednesday night, despite not having Rudy Gobert or Jaden McDaniels available in the opening Play-In game. The 8 seed in the West were lead by Karl-Anthony Towns who was Mr. Everything for his team for the first two and a half quarters, but he got into foul trouble and the T’Wolves started to lost their grasp on their double digit lead. The game went down to the wire and with 1.4 seconds left in the game Dennis Schroder nailed a corner three to put the Lakers up three. It seemed over for Minnesota, but Anthony Davis fouled Mike Conley on a last gasp three ball, and his three made FTs sent the game to overtime. LA would jump out to a quick five point lead and hold of the Timberwolves, clinching the 7 seed in the West and forcing Minnesota to play this do or die game tonight against the Pelicans.
We are live from the Target Center
Hello everyone and welcome to Minnesota where both teams are looking to rebound after opening round losses in the Play-In Tournament hoping to lock up the eight seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. The Timberwolves took the Lakers to overtime on Thursday, but fell short to send them to the second round of the Play-In game. The Thunder hung tight with the Pelicans in the 9 vs. 10 matchup and edged New Orleans at the end of the game to qualify them for a must win situation tonight from Minneapolis.
Thunder vs. Timberwolves
It’s do-or-die time in the Western Conference Play-In tonight from Minnesota. The final spot in the NBA playoffs is up for grabs as the Oklahoma City Thunder head north to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves go head to head in survive and advance battle and AS English will be with you the entire night providing live coverage, stats, analysis and highlights of tonights must win game from the Target Center.