Timberwolves vs. Thunder: Score and Twitter Reaction from Christmas Day 2016
Russell Westbrook had another big day, although it was the help of his teammates that made a difference on Christmas Day.
Steven Adams and Enes Kanter also had strong showings for the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they earned a 112-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Westbrook finished with 31 points, and although he struggled with his shot (11-of-25 from the field), he was more than happy to distribute the ball with 15 assists.
He also added this impressive block in the first half on Karl-Anthony Towns, via NBA on ESPN:
Adams was the beneficiary of a lot of those passes, totaling 22 points, just short of his career high of 24. Kanter was a difference-maker off the bench as well with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript provided an interesting note on the big men:
Towns did his part for Minnesota with 26 points and eight rebounds and a few quality dunks. Shea Serrano of The Ringer gave his thoughts on the talented big man:
Andrew Wiggins added 23 points, but poor defense from the entire team contributed to another disappointing defeat for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota was the better team in the opening session, showcasing strong defense while getting the ball to its best players to make things happen.
Towns helped extend an early advantage with this big dunk in the first quarter, via the Timberwolves:
He and Wiggins each had eight points at the first break with the Wolves holding a 27-23 lead.
Oklahoma City bounced back in the second quarter, beginning with some strong play by Kanter. Royce Young of ESPN.com summed up the performance from the bench player:
The forward scored 10 points in the second quarter to help the Thunder take over the lead.
Still it was Westbrook who made the real difference as he finally found his shot. The All-Star scored 13 in the second quarter and did just about everything on an impressive run to end the half, per NBA on ESPN:
This was enough to help Oklahoma City to a 57-53 advantage after the first half.
Adams became the go-to option in the third quarter, scoring 12 points to help the Thunder go up 86-75. Complex Sports summed up the problem for Minnesota:
Considering Westbrook also had five of his assists in this period, it's clear the two-man game was dominant. The ability of Adams to get to the free-throw line also helped the offense.
By the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City had the game well in hand. Alex Abrines made some big shots, although this alley-oop represented the nail in the coffin for Minnesota, via the NBA:
As Erik Horne of The Oklahoman noted, Westbrook was more than happy to distribute the ball in this one:
The Timberwolves cut the 18-point lead down to 12 before time expired, but the Thunder were clearly the better team while earning the win.
The Thunder remain in the middle of the playoff pack in a competitive Western Conference despite winning three in a row. They will try to build off their recent momentum with upcoming road games against the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies.
Minnesota will return home Monday for a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, but the young squad has a lot of work to do to catch the other top teams in the conference.
Postgame Reaction
Adams and Kanter were as good as ever Sunday night, and they combined for a postgame interview, via the team's Twitter account:
Meanwhile, Westbrook has raised the bar to where even his impressive performances seem ordinary. Even his impressive statistics don't tell the whole story of his impact on the team.
"I don't think the numbers describe who he is," head coach Billy Donovan said after the game, per Young.
The emotional impact is apparent, although Adams reminded fans not to get caught up in how he looks.
"You can't judge him on his face, because it's going all over the place," the center said about Westbrook, per Katz.
The guard is still averaging a triple-double through 31 games and is on his way toward a historic season.
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