Paul George, Steven Adams Lead Thunder to Win vs. Timberwolves

The Oklahoma City Thunder (9-12) snapped their three-game losing streak with a 111-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-10) at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday night. 

The win marked Oklahoma City's first since a Nov. 22 drubbing of the Golden State Warriors and allowed the Thunder to exorcise some demons after the Timberwolves bested them at the buzzer on Oct. 22 and then trumped them in a 119-116 nail-biter Oct. 27. 

And while the Thunder will take the result given the way they stumbled through the end of November, it wasn't exactly a complete effort. 

As has often been the case this season, Oklahoma City looked sharp in the early going and led by as many as 21 points in the first half thanks to a 42-point first quarter. 

But instead of slamming the door shut, the Thunder saw their deficit trimmed to six by the time the third quarter was over due, in part, to some offensive stagnation, according to ESPN.com's Royce Young: 

The fourth quarter proved to be a tight-knit affair as the two sides traded baskets at a rapid clip, but tremendous two-way efforts from Paul George and Steven Adams allowed the Thunder to keep the Timberwolves at bay. 

George led the way with 36 points (10-of-21 shooting, 5-of-9 from three) and nine assists, and he sprinkled in three blocks, including an emphatic chase-down effort in the final frame to deny Tyus Jones, as the NBA documented on Twitter: 

Adams, meanwhile, dropped a career-high 27 points on a perfect 11-of-11 shooting. 

ESPN Stats & Info put that efficient outing in perspective: 

In fact, Adams was so dialed in that he broke out a transition euro-step that elicited a tremendous bench celebration from Russell Westbrook: 

Speaking of Westbrook, the reigning MVP wasn't exactly at his best Friday. 

Although he flirted with his league-leading seventh triple-double and finished with 15 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, he committed seven turnovers and shot 6-of-21 from the field, including 0-of-8 from three. 

The Timberwolves, who outscored the Thunder 28-26 in the fourth quarter, were paced by 23 points apiece from Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, while Jimmy Butler chimed in with 22. 

Both squads will be back in action Sunday, with Minnesota set to host the Los Angeles Clippers and the Thunder slated to welcome the San Antonio Spurs back to town.