The Wolves are struggling to recover from a disastrous third quarter against the Thunder

On By Littum

OKLAHOMA CITY – Last season, the Timberwolves and Thunder went toe-to-toe for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference until the final day of the regular season. This season, the entire West looks up to Oklahoma City, which began the night five games ahead of No. 2 Memphis.

For the Wolves, the mission is to find a groove and chemistry with this roster so that when the playoffs roll around, they can compete with anyone, regardless of seed.

Their fortunes turned in a disastrous third quarter on Wednesday as they fell 113-105 in their first matchup with Oklahoma City this season.

The Wolves committed 12 of their 24 turnovers in the third and fell behind too much to close the gap in the fourth against a brilliant night from MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 40 points. Anthony Edwards had 20 for the Wolves, while Naz Reid added 19 off the bench. Reid closed the game in place of Julius Randle.

The Wolves recovered from their awful third, in which the Thunder outscored them by 20, to get as close as 106-103 in the fourth, before a Gilegious-Alexander three preceded a pair of Wolves turnovers to end the night.

The Wolves’ struggling starting line-up didn’t get off to the slow start it has in recent games and the Wolves were ahead by two before Chris Finch went onto his bench. With two of the top defenses in the league on the floor Tuesday, the game was a close one, and the Wolves led 24-21 after one.

In the second quarter, the Wolves entered their bench unit with Julius Randle in the role of facilitator, and the Wolves took a 35-28 lead while that lineup was on the floor. As the starters shuffled, the Wolves extended it to 42-30 after an Edwards stepback three. It was three of Edwards’ 15 first-half points, and the number included three threes.

The Thunder began the game 1-for-15 from three-point range. But the Wolves weren’t much better at 4-for-17. Their defense propelled them to a 52-46 halftime lead. Although the Wolves held the Thunder to 40% shooting at the half, the Thunder stayed in it thanks to 11 second-chance points.