Minnesota T'Wolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder 1/9/13: Video Highlights and Recap

The Oklahoma City Thunder improved to 18-3 at home as they easily dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves, 106-84, Wednesday night at the Chesapeake Energy Center.

It was a close game for two quarters, with the Timberwolves down five points, 47-42, going into the half. Minnesota cut the lead to three to start the third quarter.

Then the Thunder blew it open. Oklahoma City went on a 17-6 run to make it 64-50, and from then on Minnesota couldn't get back into it.

Without Kevin Love and having Ricky Rubio getting back to 100 percent, the Timberwolves are going to have a tough time for the next month or so. By then, Rubio should be himself again.

He played 22 minutes Wednesday night, dishing out seven assists but going scoreless after shooting 0-of-3 from the field.

Alexey Shved was the leading scorer for Minnesota. He had 18 on 6-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range. Nikola Pekovic was the star for the Wolves as he recorded a double-double, with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Derrick Williams did record a double-double off the bench with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also had the team's lowest plus-minus rating at minus-23.

Minnesota simply had no answer for the combination of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The two combined for 49 points on 17-of-31 shooting.

Westbrook came close to a triple-double. In addition to his 23 points, he brought down eight rebounds and recorded seven assists.

Kevin Martin came off the bench to score 19 points, but he had a rather inefficient game, shooting only 4-of-12 from the field.

This game was decided behind the three-point line. The Thunder shot 55 percent (11-of-20), whereas the Timberwolves were only at a meager 23.1 percent (3-of-13).

Minnesota were also outscored by 15 points on the break.

You can read the full box score here (via ESPN.com).

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder

Although Westbrook did come close to a triple-double, it was Durant who had the better game. Aside from the scoring, he did a little bit of everything on the court.

Along with his 26 points, Durant added eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks. He was very efficient, shooting 58.8 percent for the game.

Up Next for the Timberwolves

Minnesota has a very winnable game ahead as it travels to New Orleans to take on the Hornets Friday night. The Hornets have the worst record in the Western Conference.

Up Next for the Thunder

The Thunder have a marquee matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers ahead on Friday night. The Lakers are really stumbling right how, having lost their last five games in a row.