OKC's Second Half Struggles Cost Thunder In Loss To T'Wolves

Russell Westbrook recorded his 19th triple-double of the season, but the Thunder fell apart in the second half and lost to the Timberwolves, 96-86.

Westbrook finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, but made only one of his 13 shot attempts in the second half as the Thunder struggled to put points on the scoreboard.

The loss snaps OKC’s three-game winning streak while Minnesota has now won four consecutive games.

While the result looked lopsided, this was truly a tale of two quarters.

Oklahoma City closed the first half on a 17-to-6 run and took a five-point lead into intermission after a signature full speed layup from Westbrook, but everything fell apart after the break.

After the Thunder went up six points on a Victor Oladipo fast break layup, the Timberwolves ripped off an 18-to-6 run to flip the script and go up 65-59.

Minnesota’s domination continued in the fourth quarter as Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins took turns hitting one clutch shot after another as the Thunder begin its six-game road trip with a dud.

Towns led all scorers with 29 points and 17 rebounds while Wiggins added 19 points.

Along with his poor shot selection in the second half, Westbrook was careless with the basketball throughout the game and technically tallied a quadruple-double with 10 turnovers.

Enes Kanter continued to play the best basketball of his career with 21 points and eight rebounds while Oladipo added 19 points of his own.

OKC will continue its road trip on Sunday night in Sacramento against DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings.