Westbrook's 28 points pace Thunder past Timberwolves
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook scored 28 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-92 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook shot 9 of 18 from the field to go along with eight assists, six rebounds and three assists. Center Enes Kanter came off the bench to pour in 20 points and grab 10 rebounds. Center Steven Adams added 14 points and eight boards.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves (1-4) with 33 points on 13 of 20 shooting. Shabazz Muhammad came off the bench to post 15 points. No other starter reached double digits.
It was a battle of big men to start the evening. Towns and his ability to shoot jumpers and take defenders off the dribble was the main focus of the Minnesota offense early on. He scored 13 points in the first quarter on 6-for-9 shooting.
The Thunder (5-1) countered with the combination of Adams and Kanter. While Adams was able to score with close jumpers and offensive putbacks, Kanter used a variety of moves in the paint to rack up points.
Westbrook began to take control in the second quarter by continually attacking the basket. He was able to bully rookie Kris Dunn and fight his way into the paint for dunks or assists that led to dunks.
The Thunder took a 59-53 advantage into halftime.
Oklahoma City went on a 22-8 run to kick off the second half. While Westbrook provided the highlight plays, they were able to get contributions from several sources. That included bench players Jerami Grant, Joffrey Lauvergne and Semaj Christon.
Towns was was unable to find any help on the offensive end. Guard Andrew Wiggins couldn't buy a basket with Andre Roberson guarding him. The rest of the Timberwolves missed open shots.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Towns had 33 of his teams 72 points. But his squad trailed by 18 and would get no closer.
The Timberwolves shot 39 percent from the field and 21 percent from behind the arc.
Oklahoma City hit 7 of 16 from 3-point range.
NOTES: Heading into Saturday's game with Minnesota, Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook's usage rate is 42.3. Comparably, former Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is the all-time leader at 38.74 during the 2005-06 season. Westbrook's 2014-15 season is second all-time at 38.37. "I look at it a little bit differently from the perspective of Russell's a unique player and that he can affect the game in so many different ways," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "I want him to be aggressive." ... Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said rookie Kris Dunn is still learning the NBA game. "It is a longer game and the game itself is a lot different," Thibodeau said. "I think the physicality and speed of the game is a lot different from college. He is going through an adjustment period with that. Kris is a really tough kid." ... The Oklahoma City-Minnesota game started at 5 p.m. CT instead of its normal 7 p.m. time. According to officials, it's was part of the NBA testing times that are appealing to its European markets.