A showdown between the top two seeds in the West did not disappoint as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder went blow-for-blow for a full 48 minutes. In the end, the Timberwolves proved victorious with a pivotal 107-101 win over the Thunder.
Despite the win, Anthony Edwards wasn’t happy with what he considered poor, one-sided officiating. He was so fed up he went off on the refs, even though he knew it would put a dent in his bank account.
Edwards led the way with 27 points and punctuated his performance with a vicious two-handed dunk down the stretch. Minnesota and Oklahoma City had alternated leads eight-straight times after Jaden McDaniels drilled a 3 to put the Timberwolves up 99-97. Chet Holmgren missed a 3 on the other end, and Edwards put Minnesota up for good with his driving dunk.
Minnesota won the first game between these teams in a 106-103 nailbiter in November. However, Oklahoma City won the next two games. A Thunder win would have given them the tiebreaker at the end of the year. Instead, the Timberwolves evened the head-to-head series and now sit all alone atop the Western Conference.
The Thunder, Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets are all vying for the Northwest Division title, too. Denver led the pack entering the night at +130, followed by Oklahoma City (+155) and Minnesota (+250). However, those odds changed after Minnesota’s win as the Nuggets are now +130, the Timberwolves +165 and Thunder +240.
