5 Observations from OKC’s 111-107 Win over the Minnesota Timberwolves

Posted on December 1, 2017

By: Michael Doutey

The Oklahoma City Thunder hold on for a 111-107 win over division foe Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder found themselves in familiar territory. OKC got off to another hot start and lead this game by 21 in the second quarter. You could see the Thunder came out really focused and were running their offensive sets with a crispness we haven’t seen often. As soon as the Thunder took a 21 point lead you saw the Thunder’s focus fade. Sloppy passes. Bad shots. Missed defensive assignments. And on cue the Timberwolves made a run. The Wolves cut the lead all the way down to two late in the fourth quarter. But the Thunder found a way to win this game. It’s something they have not done when in this situation this season. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t perfect. But the Thunder are passed wanting to win in a stylish fashion. They just needed to win. and on this night, they found a way to get in the win column. That’s the bottom line. Here are your five observations from tonight’s game.

1. PG13

Paul George was the best player on the floor tonight and it wasn’t close. I’ve thought he has been the Thunder’s best player for the last two or three weeks. But there was no question tonight. PG scored 36 points, dished out nine assists, blocked three shots and grabbed four rebounds. He was aggressive and got to the free throw line 11 times and knocked down all 11. He shot 10-21 from the field and went 5-9 from three. He was active on defense. He moved the basketball. He shot well. He got to the line. He sparked the team. The Thunder ran offense in the fourth quarter and PG scored 10 of his team-high 36 in the final frame. He lead the Thunder to this win and that was the first time Russell Westbrook didn’t close out the game in a long, long time. Tonight, PG was the closer and I’ve been saying for a while that PG should get more looks in crunch time. He did tonight and he helped lead this team to a much needed victory.

2. Kid Kiwi

Steven Adams had a night to remember. Sure, he set a career high in scoring with 27 points. But it was how he got those points that is incredible. He did it perfectly. He went a perfect 11-11 from the floor and made all five of his free throws. And he did all this while in foul trouble most of the night. But in the biggest spot of the game when the Wolves were making one last push to try and steal this game away, Adams grabbed a monster offensive rebound out of the hands of Karl-Anthony Towns and then laid in the ball to extend the Thunder lead back to five with 26 seconds left to play. That essentially sealed this Thunder win. Adams had a monster fourth quarter scoring eight points in the frame. Who would have thought PG and Adams would be closing the game out for a Thunder win tonight? Adams needs to be more of a focal point in crunch time too. He needs to be used on pick and rolls, much like in the first half. Tonight, he answered the call and hopefully the team will use him more in tight games moving forward.


3. 28 Assists

The Thunder opened the game in a way we haven’t seen much of. On 15 made baskets OKC had assists on 11 of them. They were moving the ball and it is no wonder they were able to score 42 points in the first quarter. The Thunder moved the ball fairly well in the second, recording seven assists on 10 made baskets. The Thunder woes are still coming in the third quarter. The Thunder only scored 21 points in the third and were outscored by four. The Thunder made eight shots in the third but only had four assists. The Thunder’s last assist in the third came after Russ passed to PG who nailed a three with 8:41 left to go in the quarter. The Thunder went up 73-59 with that made shot. After that, OKC was outscored 20-12 and the Thunder lead went from 14 all the way down to six. That is where this team struggles the most. Yes, it is very difficult to keep pressing on the gas when you have a lead. But the Thunder have a terrible habit of letting teams come back when they have these leads because they stop moving the basketball. The team goes into hero mode. The ball gets sticky. There are too many one-pass-one-shot possessions. Tonight, the Thunder were able to right the ship in the fourth quarter. OKC assisted six times on their eight made shots. They haven’t been able to get back on track in tight games but tonight they did. Maybe this will be a turning point for the team to trust Billy Donovan’s vision for the team. Because it is clear that his way is better than what the Thunder do when they revert back to whatever the do in the third quarter.

4. Me7o’s New Role?

The Thunder didn’t use Carmelo Anthony much tonight. At least not in the same way they had been going into tonight. For me, this is more the vision I had for OKC when the Thunder traded for Melo. He is the third scoring option and sometimes will be the fourth like tonight. He never needs to be more than third or fourth unless he is hot and the Thunder can keep going to him. Quietly, Melo scored nine points on an efficient 4-7 shooting from the floor and he went 1-3 from three. The Thunder need to use him like this more. He did a decent job rebounding as he nabbed six boards. His defense is going to be bad. It’s just what it is. But what type of sacrifice will he make for this team to work? It looks like this is the vision the Thunder have for him and for an aging superstar, that can be frustrating transition. Billy Donovan used him a little differently tonight and it benefited the team. Royce Young noticed something Melo did in the first half that signaled some frustration or disagreement, but this is the blueprint for success with Carmelo Anthony and the Thunder. Maybe he can have a few more shots. But this needs to be his role and it will be something to watch how he accepts it. For what it’s worth, he was very good in the locker room and showed no irritation or frustration.

5. Owning the Glass

The Thunder lost two previous games to the T-Wolves by the closest of margins. A few extra points off offensive rebounds can really hurt in tight games. KAT and Taj Gibson really caused issues for the Thunder by grabbing offensive rebounds for putbacks in the previous two losses. Tonight the Thunder only allowed six offensive rebounds the whole game. KAT had three and Gibson was held to none. The Thunder held the rebounding advantage 42-26 overall. That was a big win for the Thunder and helped propel the team to a victory.

The Thunder move to 9-12 on the season and keep a series tie and option with the Wolves. The Thunder are now 1-2 against the T-Wolves this season and will face Minnesota next on January 10th. But the Thunder will be back in action on Sunday evening to take on the San Antonio Spurs. Tip is set for 6 p.m. inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena. And I’ll leave you with Steven Adams glorious euro step. It’s just too good not to!

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