Highlights: OKC vs. MIN
BOX SCORE: OKC VS. MIN
By Paris Lawson | Broadcast and Digital Reporter | okcthunder.com
THE BIG PICTURE
The Thunder dropped the first game of its three-game homestand against the Minnesota Timberwolves who caught fire from the 3-point line to take commanding lead in the first half. The T'wolves found their stride in the second quarter and didn’t look back as the Thunder’s offense couldn’t keep pace through the remainder of the game. The team sets its sights on Sunday where it will have a chance to take the lessons from this one and apply them to another division rival in the Utah Jazz.
MOMENTS FROM THE 48
A Lopsided Second
The Thunder played an evenly matched game in the opening 12 minutes of action that saw seven ties and three lead changes as neither team led by more than five points. Both Isaiah Roby and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander logged 13 points in the first frame to help the Thunder put up 34 as a group. Heading into the second quarter, the Thunder trailed by just two points and had held Minnesota to 4-of-14 from the 3-point line.
It wasn’t until the second frame that the Timberwolves managed to create significant separation behind some prolific 3-point shooting. The T-Wolves, who lead the league in 3-point attempts per night, caught fire from deep with a hyper-efficient 8-of-10 performance from the 3-point line to take a lead of as many as 17 points in the frame.
“They're a potent offensive team,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. “Credit them for how they play. It just requires a monster effort defensively, and multiple efforts defensively and obviously we didn’t have that tonight.”
The margin proved to be enough as the Minnesota's offense continued to burn at a potent 47-percent clip for the rest of the game while also causing disruption for the Thunder’s offense to the tune of 23 total points off of turnovers. OKC managed to shave the deficit down to just nine points in the third quarter but couldn’t string together enough stops or momentum to close the gap completely.
“They were the aggressors offensively,” said Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “They had us on our heels and the scoreboard showed so.”
Shai’s Big Game
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his streak of strong offensive scoring production as he led all scorers with 33 points and seven assists while shooting 14-of-21 from the field. The effort marked the fourth time in five games where Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30 or more points.
Gilgeous-Alexander got his production into the game early with 13 points in the first frame alone and 20 points heading into intermission.
“He's been on a bit of a tear. He's just really hard to keep contained,” said Daigneault “They're trying to take the ball out of the stands and committing all the resources to him yet he's still able to score the way he did, create the offense he did and do it in a way that's pretty efficient as well.”
“I just feel like my work is paying off,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Still got some things I’ve got to get better at for sure, I just had a stretch of good games.”
Strong Stat Line for Roby
For the second-consecutive game, Thunder forward Isaiah Roby finished the night with 20-plus points. Coming off a career-high 26-point performance against Denver on Wednesday, Roby backed up the effort with a 21- point, 10 rebound double-double effort on Friday night.
“I don't think I've done anything in the past few games is playing outside of myself or playing outside of what I can do,” said Roby. “This is just the opportunity, what's going on with our team right now. We're all playing different roles than we have been all season, but personally I think this is something I can consistently do that's not playing outside of myself."
In yet another display of his readiness, Roby also jumped out to an early start offensively by scoring all his 13 first quarter points in the opening seven minutes of action. The fourth year forward played strong around the rim against the bigger Karl-Anthony Towns, drawing two fouls against the Wolves’ center and going a perfect 5-for-5 from the line during that time span.
“It's part of being a pro and part of the mentality that you need when you're starting. The ball goes up in the air, you need to be ready to go from the jump and he's done a nice job of that in the stretch of games now,” said Daigneault. “He's kept himself ready and improved himself to this point to where he can go out there and play the way he’s playing.”
THE LAST WORD
Isaiah Roby on the Minnesota's 3-point shooting…
“We were just a step late today and then even when we were doing our assignment correctly, they still made some tough shots. They're a hot shooting team. So when you give them some open looks, and then they make some not-so-open ones, it's gonna be a tough night for you.”
WHAT'S NEXT
Friday night’s matchup marked the first of three consecutive home games for the Thunder. OKC’s next test will be another division rival in the Utah Jazz on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT.