OKLAHOMA CITY -- Squaring up against Donte DiVincenzo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slammed the brakes to create space. As a sudden lane to the basket opened up, the MVP candidate only needed two dribbles to slip by Julius Randle for the highlight layup.
The last-second bucket was the cherry on top of a game-altering third quarter. The Oklahoma City Thunder collected a 113-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. OKC exits 2024 with a franchise-record 12-game win streak.
The first half couldn't have predicted this outcome. What looked eerily similar to the offensive woes that plagued OKC in the NBA Cup finals showed its ugly head again on New Year's Eve. The Thunder couldn't generate points against one of the league's top defenses.
The Thunder left the first quarter in a 24-21 hole. The second frame wasn't much different as the Timberwolves led by as many as 12 points. OKC entered halftime in a 52-46 deficit. Halfway through, it appeared OKC would pick up its first loss in nearly a month.
Instead, the third quarter changed that in a blink of an eye. The early parts of the second half were the Timberwolves tightening their grip on the game. They had an early 9-0 run in what looked like an early grave for OKC. Mike Conley made three straight 3-pointers to put Minnesota up by nine points.
Then, the OKC avalanche began. Like the polar opposite of the dynasty Golden State Warriors, the Thunder's historic defense took over the final nine minutes of the third frame.
Every other Minnesota possession ended in a turnover. The Thunder swarmed back with fastbreak buckets. The Thunder went on a jaw-dropping 32-8 run. That was part of an even larger 43-point third quarter and outscored the Timberwolves by 20.
From a six-point halftime deficit to a comfortable double-digit lead, the Thunder entered the fourth quarter with an 89-75 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander's ballerina-esque basket to get past DiVincenzo and Randle was a stylish finish to one of OKC's more dominant stretches this season.
The New Year's Eve crowd went from as quiet as a library to as loud as the midnight ball drop in New York. It resembled close to a playoff atmosphere and was well deserved by the Thunder due to their sheer defensive dominance.
But with a quarter still left to go, the Timberwolves eventually stopped the bleeding and slowly clawed back into the game. The Thunder's offense struggled to produce and Minnesota stopped turning the ball over at a historic rate. They cut it to a single-digit deficit in the opening minute.
With less than five minutes left, Jaden McDaniels splashed in a 3-pointer to make it a 103-96 deficit. The Thunder then committed a shot-clock violation. Then DiVincenzo hit another 3-pointer. OKC's lead was now just 103-99 with four minutes left.
Gulp. The Thunder crowd went from early celebration mode into heart rates and nail-biting increasing. Holding onto a three-point lead, Isaiah Hartenstein let the crowd breathe a little when he had an easy dunk thanks to a Cason Wallace steal.
After falling short of an alley-oop, Williams threw the basketball back at Gilgeous-Alexander. The MVP candidate splashed the 3-pointer. That shot served as the dagger. OKC had a 109-103 lead with 1:48 left. Williams punched the ball out of Reid and had an easy dunk to slam shut the door.
The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 12-of-36 (33.3%) from 3. They went 17-of-23 from the free-throw line. They had 25 assists on 42 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with another 40-point masterpiece. Williams had a 14-point near triple-double. Hartenstein finished with a 15-point double-double. Lu Dort had 14 points.
Defense continues to be the side of the ball the Thunder lean on. They forced 24 turnovers and scored 31 points off them, which single-handedly won OKC the game in comeback fashion.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves shot 49% from the field and went 15-of-38 (39.5%) from 3. They went 12-of-12 from the free-throw line. They had 21 assists on 39 baskets. Five Timberwolves players scored double-digit points.
Anthony Edwards suffered from a bad case of Haliburton-itis. He was blanketed and held to 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Randle didn't do much with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Conley had 14 points and Reid finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Losing has become a foreign concept for the Thunder. They went nearly a month without collecting one. Even when the first half looked like they were staring down a loss due to a lackadaisical offensive outing, OKC locked in and locked up Minnesota in the third quarter.
The Timberwolves might no longer be the threat they were last season, but these squads always provide classics when they match up. That happened once again for the first time this season. They have at least three dates left.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Showered with MVP chants throughout the night, this year might finally be it for Gilgeous-Alexander. The Timberwolves were at his mercy.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 40 points on 15-of-23 shooting, three rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and went 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. This is his third 40-plus point performance in the past week.
Like the other two 40-point outings, this was a thorough dominance. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 points in the first quarter. He was OKC's sole source of offense for the first half. As the rest struggled, the 26-year-old kept the Thunder in it long enough for them to snap out of their funk.
The Thunder then nearly matched their 46 first-half points with 43 third-quarter points. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way there too. He scored 19 points in the frame as he easily got to his spots. Against a four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, the drive-heavy scorer made Rudy Gobert look pedestrian.
Gilgeous-Alexander got to his spots without a problem. The game was played at his pace. Drives to the baskets attracted oohs and aahs. His mid-range game was money. Nobody on Minnesota could do a thing to limit him as he got into a zone.
While the scoreboard showed a close contest, the feel of it didn't. As long as Gilgeous-Alexander was on the court, the Thunder would walk away with a win. He put the finishing touches to this gem in the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander is in the middle of his best stretch ever. He's slept-walked his way to superb efficient 30-plus point outings and lopsided wins. The gap between him and Nikola Jokic for the MVP race continues to get smaller -- if it hasn't closed already.
Facing up against Randle, Williams was determined to create another turnover. He poked and poked until the basketball was finally loosened from his handle. Gilgeous-Alexander rewarded his teammate's effort with an easy dunk.
While not the scoring threat he usually is, Williams' endless energy helped fuel OKC's comeback win with a defensive clinic in the second half. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, seven assists and seven rebounds. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Williams is the best on the roster when it comes to weaponizing the energy the crowd gives the Thunder. Considering this was one of the better crowds of the season, that likely supercharged him to leave his mark on the game despite the pedestrian box score stats.
Faking the handoff to Wallace, Hartenstein's head moved one way while his hand moved the other. The no-look bounce pass to his fellow starter finished with a dunk. The seven-footer dished out similar small-window bounce-pass assists to Williams, Kenrich Williams and Aaron Wiggins.
Hartenstein's playmaking has lived up to the hype. He's been an additional facilitator that OKC continues to rely on to create easy looks for his teammates. It was another clock-in, clock-out outing for the 26-year-old. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He shot 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
The double-double machine continues to outplay the opposition. This time, it was against both Gobert and Randle. There's a reason Reid was the best of Minnesota's three bigs and that was because Hartenstein was off the floor for most of his minutes.
The Timberwolves were likely circled as a squad that the Thunder wanted to see Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren match up against. Even after the shocking Karl-Anthony Towns trade, they still had a three-headed frontcourt monster.
It didn't happen in this matchup, but it's easy to see the vision. Now that Holmgren no longer needs crutches to walk, the dream took a step closer to reality. Hartenstein and Holmgren should complement well off each other and will neutralize a lot of the West's talented and large frontcourts like Minnesota.
If Timberwolves fans are hellbent on including Edwards in the same stratosphere as Gilgeous-Alexander, they likely want to erase this matchup.
The high-usage scorer was a no-show in OKC. He only attempted 12 shots and got it going too late. It was an uncharacteristic outing for the 23-year-old amid a breakout season. Such is the case for most of the opposition's best scorers against Dort.
Dort finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3.
The scoring was a nice add-on, but Dort earned this praise from the defensive side. He's been a Kryptonite against some of the West's best guards. Minnesota's offense this season has been about Edwards and with him limited, it struggled to crack triple-digit points.