Timberwolves at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder and their star point guard finally came crashing back down to earth in an emotional game against former teammate Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. Westbrook and the Thunder will try to put that behind them and focus on the young and talented Minnesota Timberwolves, who visit Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Westbrook set the NBA on fire in the first week and averaged 37.8 points while notching a pair of triple-doubles in the first four games before slumping to 20 points on 4-of-15 shooting on the second night of a back-to-back in the 122-96 loss to Golden State. "We’ll get ready for the next game," Westbrook told reporters. "It’s one game and one loss for us. We’ll move on." The Timberwolves seemed to put all their talent together on both ends of the floor in a 116-80 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday but fell back into bad habits in a 102-99 home loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. "I think we’re learning," coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "But the games keep coming. You can’t use that as an excuse. You’ve got to find a way to get it done."
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Oklahoma
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (1-3): Minnesota had four starters age 22 or younger in the last two games, with 22-year-old point guard Kris Dunn the lone rookie of the bunch, and could not find the same fire in the third quarter that carried the team to a lead in the first half on Thursday - a habit that first surfaced in losses in the first two games. “You have to be able to take a punch and then you’ve got to be able to get up and do it over," Thibodeau told reporters. "But we have to do it as a team. Guys can’t do what might be best for themselves versus what’s best for the team." Dunn recorded more turnovers (four) than points (three) on Thursday, when he went 1-of-6 from the floor in 30 minutes.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (4-1): One of the positives coming out of the first loss was the play of guard Victor Oladipo, who scored 21 points on a season-best 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Oladipo, who was acquired in a draft night trade from the Orlando Magic and signed a four-year, $84 million extension with Oklahoma City on Monday, shot 32.8 percent from the field in the first four games. The Thunder were also able to keep Westbrook to a season-low 29 minutes and opened the lineup to allow rookie guards Semaj Christon and Alex Abrines the chance to play 19 minutes apiece.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Westbrook is averaging six turnovers, including a total of 16 in the last two games.
2. Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double in each of the last two games.
3. The Thunder took three of the four meetings last season, but Minnesota won its last visit to Oklahoma 99-96 on March 11.