Timberwolves vs. Thunder 2/22/13: Video Highlights and Recap

The Oklahoma City Thunder easily dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-111, during their Friday night matchup in Oklahoma City.

Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 37 points and the Thunder broke the 40-win mark for the season after this one. The Timberwolves dropped their 32nd game, falling to 20-32 on the season.

It wasn't ever really close, either. Oklahoma City took an early 10-point lead after the end of the first quarter and carried an eight-point advantage into the half.

At the end of the third quarter, the Thunder broke the 100-point threshold and led by 17 points after a nine-point swing in their favor ended the quarter.

Minnesota didn’t roll over and die in the fourth, though. They closed the gap several times, but couldn’t keep the high-powered Thunder from scoring. The end result was a 127-point performance, the most points scored by the team this season and most allowed by Minnesota.

Derrick Williams, the Wolves' former No. 2 overall draft selection, shot poorly throughout. He hit just one of his seven shots at the half and finished with just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting.

Minnesota’s bench, led by a 17-point performance by Alexey Shved, scored 59 points and was the lone bright spot for the visitors. Only two of their starting five—Ricky Rubio (13) and Andrei Kirilenko (15)—ended the game in double digits.

Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook was on point on Friday night, easily leading all scorers with 29 points. That was after three quarters, too. He wasn't just looking to shoot all game, though. He got his teammates involved plenty and ended up with nine assists after that third quarter.

He continued to be aggressive in the fourth quarter, adding to his total and finishing with a season high of 39 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

What’s Next for the Minnesota Timberwolves?

Minnesota will try to get back in the win column when it hosts the Golden State Warriors at 3:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday afternoon. The Timberwolves started the second half of the season on a good note by beating Philadelphia before Friday night's dismantling in Oklahoma City.

 

What’s Next for the Oklahoma City Thunder?

The Thunder will stay home and take Saturday off as they prepare for their 9:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday night matchup against the Chicago Bulls. They'll look for their second win in a row after dropping their first post-All-Star break matchup in Houston.

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