The Oklahoma City Thunder blew it on Monday night.
Anthony Edwards made sure of that.
Edwards, after leading the Minnesota Timberwolves back from a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime, came up with one of the best blocks of the season to help seal their 131-128 win at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Edwards, with just seconds left on the clock in the extra period, met Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the rim and stuffed him perfectly to block a layup that would’ve put Oklahoma City in the lead.
The Timberwolves shouldn’t have even been in that position to win the game after the first three quarters. Minnesota stumbled out of the gate in the second half of a back-to-back against the Thunder, and fell into a 19-point hole at the break. The Timberwolves put up just 17 points as a team in the second quarter and completely struggled to keep pace with the Thunder — who still hold the best record in the conference.
But after slowly chipping away at the deficit, Minnesota ended regulation on a long 15-0 run that Jaden McDaniels capped with an and-one to tie the game up and force the extra period. The Thunder went nearly four full minutes without scoring to end the fourth quarter.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker then hit two free throws after Edwards’ block in overtime to seal the three-point win — which gave Minnesota the split after falling in Minneapolis on Sunday night.
McDaniels led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which now holds a 32-27 record. Naz Reid finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Edwards finished just shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander nearly had a triple-double himself for the Thunder. He finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the loss, which was just the team’s 11th on the season. Jalen Williams added 27 points, and Aaron Wiggins added 19 points off the bench.
Even despite their win, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was still incredibly upset with the Thunder, their style of basketball and the officiating that it leads to.
“It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton, you know? They really do, they foul, they foul all the time,” Finch said. “And then you can’t really touch Shai. It’s a very frustrating thing and it takes a lot of mental toughness to try and play through it. We just eventually were able to get downhill and force the issue ourselves [tonight] and were rewarded for it.”
There is no doubt that the Thunder have already proven themselves as one of the best teams in the league, especially when Gilgeous-Alexander is playing at his MVP-caliber level. But Monday night’s late collapse was brutal. Clearly, despite their massive lead in the conference standings, the Timberwolves and plenty of others in the west can still hold their own with Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder night-in and night-out.
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