For a struggling team like the Wolves, eye-catching opportunities in the Western Conference are about as scarce as a change in elevation on the Oklahoman plains.
One presented itself when Minnesota faced a Kevin Durant-less Thunder squad Monday night at Chesapeake Arena. As late as the fourth quarter, the Wolves (7-37) had a chance to make a game-turning run and win for the first time in almost two weeks.
It never came.
With Russell Westbrook leading the charge, Oklahoma City (23-22) surged late to snap a two-game skid on the back end of a back-to-back for both teams. A sellout crowd of 18,203 showed up to see rookie Andrew Wiggins and Minnesota's young core keep it close for a while, only to succumb to superior talent down the stretch.
2 top performers: Rookie sensation Andrew Wiggins led all scorers with 23 points, nine of which came on a season/career-high 12 free-throw attempts.
Through three quarters, Wiggins helped hold Westbrook to 3-of-16 shooting and seven points, but the bulldog point guard came alive in the fourth with 11 points to go with five assists and four rebounds on the night.
3 key stats: Point guard Mo Williams felt "residual effects" from a hip injury suffered Sunday night at Atlanta, coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said, and shot 1 for 10 from the floor with four points and three assists.
Led by 14 points apiece from Reggie Jackson and Anthony Morrow, Oklahoma City's bench outscored the Wolves' reserves 45-21. Minnesota's second unit came into the night ranked 18th in the NBA with 32.5 points per game.
Starting alongside Nikola Pekovic for the second game in a row, Minnesota's Gorgui Dieng pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds. Dieng ranks 20th in the league with 8.3 boards per game.
Said: "Tonight, he had 12 free throws; he should've shot 22 tonight. Right now, as I told our guys, when you're a young team and you're not winning, you're a young player, you don't get the benefit. I said 'you guys have to take care of yourselves out there. I can't keep giving away every night getting technical fouls to try and prove your point.'" -- Saunders on Wiggins
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