NBA 2018/19, Oklahoma City Thunder 112-114 Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 Talking Points

The Minnesota Timberwolves won a close encounter against Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that could have gone either way. The final score line was 114-112 in favour of the Timberwolves.

With the victory over the Thunder, the Timberwolves are now 13th in the West with a record of 15-18, while on the other hand, the Thunder still have firm footing as the 3rd seed in the West.

Paul George again delivered results for the Thunder as he has been doing so far, but this time, he was just not enough. He came short and Minnesota sneaked a victory.

The Timberwolves badly needed this victory as they have won only 4 of their last 10 games. They have often looked lost, like don’t know what’s going on, and as for the Thunder, they would be fine even after this loss, as they’re in sublime form, and hopefully, this is just a one-off for them.

With all that in mind, here are the top 3 talking points from this game -

#3. A much needed performance from Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins shines against OKC

Minnesota sees Andrew Wiggins as their star. They see him as a second guy to Karl-Anthony Towns. And especially since his big lucrative contract deal, it’s clear that they want to put their bets on Wiggins.

They hoped that Wiggins will breakout this season. But, sadly for them the former No.1 overall pick hasn’t been able to do so. In fact, he has taken a step back this season. This was a much needed performance from him in order to get back to positive ways. He scored 30 points on 11-20 shooting.

Throughout the season, Wiggins has been averaging 16.7 pts, on a miserable 40% shooting from the field. Hopefully this game was a sign of positive change for him and the Timberwolves.

#2. Team work makes the dream work

Okc vs Timberwolves

The Timberwolves were the better team today. They passed the ball more, they passed it often. They looked for open guys and tried to create plays. On the other hand, The Thunder relied heavily on their top 2 guys to make things happen for them.

A great example of this incredible team play was shown when the Timberwolves were 108-110 behind and they found Dario Saric for an open look, who hit the three to give them the lead. It is this kind of team play that gives you the victory.

On the other hand, the Thunder were not sharing the ball enough and not engaging everyone to be able to make an impact. This costed them big time when the Timberwolves started to lock-in on George and Westbrook, and they didn’t have enough space to do anything with the ball.

#1. The parity in 3-point shots

Paul George and Andrew Wiggins

This was probably the biggest difference in today’s game. The Timberwolves shot the ball from the 3-point line exceptionally well with 52% on 14-27 shooting, while the Thunder were average with 36% on 9-25 shooting.

In the modern NBA, the 3-pointer is the most important shot and the most dangerous one. Any team who shoots that well from the arc is almost bound to win, and this was the case for the Timberwolves as well.

In what was a much needed victory for them, they came together, found open team-mates and created easy shots for them. This increased their efficiency and also got everyone involved in the game.

The Thunder were also trying to do this but it backfired for them as none of the players except Westbrook and George came up to help them.

Now, in their next game, the Thunder will go to Houston to battle it out on Christmas Day, while the Timberwolves will go to Chicago to face the Bulls after a much needed victory in this game.