As a pair of teams take the court in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it’s win or go home in the Western Conference play-in tournament. The 10th-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder travel to Minnesota to face the eighth-seeded Timberwolves on Friday night.
Update Injury Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves
On the road, Oklahoma City defeated ninth-seeded New Orleans 123-118 on Wednesday night while Minnesota was beaten 108-102 in overtime on the road by the Lakers Tuesday night.
The Timberwolves lead the series 88-44 and have won seven of the last eight meetings, including three of the last four this season.
Oklahoma City came from behind to defeat ninth-seeded New Orleans on the road and advance to this round. The Thunder will now try to win two straight road games to secure the eighth seed in the West and a first-round matchup with the Nuggets.
Over 41 minutes against New Orleans, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points (11-22 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 8-8 FT), five rebounds, three assists, one block, and three steals.
Gilgeous-Alexander struggled in the first half but made up for it after halftime, scoring 25 points and hitting the game-winning jumper.
Despite a slow start, the All-Star hit half of his shots and was perfect from the charity stripe, sinking four crucial free throws in the final seconds.
The Thunder will face the Timberwolves in the Play-In Tournament’s next round, which should be good news for SGA. In December, he had 35 points, seven rebounds, and five assists against Minnesota.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves has been caught up in a circus-type environment since Rudy Gobert punched teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout in last Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Pelicans.
Gobert was suspended for the Lakers loss, but he is now in danger of missing Friday’s game due to back spasms.
When he met with reporters on Thursday, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described Gobert as “uncertain.”
Gobert claimed that his back problems were so severe that he would have missed the Lakers game if he hadn’t been suspended.
He also stated that he had made amends with Anderson, who had a fantastic all-around game against the Lakers, tallying 12 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, four steals, and four blocked shots.
Against the Lakers, Anthony Edwards finished with nine points (3-17 FG, 0-9 3Pt, 3-4 FT), eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and one steal in 43 minutes.
Edwards couldn’t have chosen a worse time to go cold from the field, finishing with nine points on three-of-17 shooting. While the rest of his teammates contributed, Edwards was virtually absent on offense.
The Timberwolves will now face the Thunder in a game that they must win. Expect Edwards to improve as they compete for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Injury Report T-Wolves:
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Calf) – Questionable
- Jaylen Nowell (Knee) – Questionable
- Rudy Gobert (Back) – Questionable
- Jaden McDaniels (Hand) – Out
- Naz Reid (Wrist) – Out
Injury Report Thunder:
- Aleksej Pokusevski (Knee) – Out
- Kenrich Williams (Wrist) – Out for the season
- Chet Holmgren (Foot) – Out for the season
