Thunder 113, Timberwolves 93
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Forward Kevin Durant scored 21 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Durant shot 7 of 14 from the field to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Guard Dion Waiters came off the bench to post 17 points. Guard Russell tallied 12 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds to reach his fourth triple double of the season. That is the second most in the NBA behind Golden State forward Draymond Green, who has eight.
Guard Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points to lead the Timberwolves. Forward Shabazz Muhammad scored 15 points while guard Zach LaVine added 13.
The Timberwolves (12-29) offensive struggles started from the opening tip. Even though Oklahoma City (29-12) wasn't playing air tight defense, it took until the 4:22 mark before they scored their first points of the night.
Center Nikola Pekovic came off the bench and scored six quick points for the struggling Timberwolves.
The Thunder took advantage early and sprinted to a 16 point led. Durant led the charge, but eight different players had at least four points in the first half as they led 57-43 at halftime.
When Oklahoma City was in Minnesota on Tuesday, they allowed the Timberwolves to hang around and keep it a tight game until the final minutes. They didn't make the same mistake this time around.
The Thunder attacked the basket in the third quarter and came away with dunk after dunk. The Timberwolves added to their own demise with turnovers that the Thunder turned into highlight fast-breaks.
Oklahoma stretched its lead to 25 points before sitting Durant and Westbrook down. Minnesota closed the deficit to 14 points with nine minutes left and it looked like Thunder coach Billy Donovan was going to have to bring his starters back.
However, Donovan stayed with his reserves and they rewarded him by pushing the lead to 26 points and closing the game out.
NOTES: Oklahoma City F Kevin Durant was voted No. 4 on ESPN.com's best ever small forward rankings, ahead of several Hall of Famers. "I've always been a firm believer in waiting until guys' careers are over, but a lot of people nowadays get caught up in the moment, get caught up in what have you done for me lately and forget about the great players," Durant said. "I'm not downplaying myself, because I feel like I'm as good as any small forward that's played, but at this point in my career I don't think I should be on that list." ... Minnesota coach Sam Mitchell says youth is at the core of his team's recent struggles. "Every night it has been something," Mitchell said. "That's what young teams do. It's just mental mistakes. Mistakes that young players make. To their credit, they try correct them." ... In the lastest NBA All-Star voting, Durant (774,782 votes) is second in front court voting and G Russell Westbrook (609,901) is second among guards, which means they both would be in starting line up if voting ended today. "It's right where it should be," Durant said. "Us two should be starting."