Timberwolves stay within reach of Thunder until late in 113-105 loss

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 26, 2025

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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Timberwolves wanted to put their two most painful losses in the rearview mirror Wednesday night. Only problem was the one-loss Oklahoma City Thunder awaited them in the teams’ first matchup since the Western Conference finals.

The Wolves gave the defending champions more than most teams have given them this season, but the Thunder still came away with a 113-105 victory after outplaying the Wolves down the stretch. The Wolves have lost three straight games. They are now 2-2 in group play of the NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points for the Thunder, while Anthony Edwards had 31 for the Wolves. Julius Randle struggled offensively to just 10 points on 2 for 13.

Tight finish

In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, the Wolves tied the score 101-101 with 3 minutes, 41 seconds to play on a Donte DiVincenzo 3-pointer.

But the Wolves had two straight turnovers coming out of a timeout with just over three minutes to play. Rudy Gobert went to the line for two free throws but missed them both, and Jaden McDaniels committed a foul on the rebound. Chet Holmgren answered by hitting his free throws for a four-point Thunder lead. After an Edwards 3, the Wolves doubled Gilgeous-Alexander, who found Holmgren for another 3 that essentially iced the game. The Wolves had 16 turnovers.

Free-throw struggles

The Wolves got plenty of calls on Wednesday night, but they couldn’t take advantage of the times they went to the free-throw line. They Wolves finished just 22 for 37 (60%). Gobert was 3 for 8, and Randle was 4 for 7 while Edwards was 8 for 12. The Thunder were 30 for 38 (78.9%).

Shannon back on track

The Wolves came into the season with high expectations for Terrence Shannon Jr., but a toe injury has hampered his start. After re-entering the rotation Monday in Sacramento, Shannon looked like he and the Wolves thought he could play.

Shannon was one of the lone bright spots on offense with his second quarter. In six minutes, he made all four of his shots for 10 points as the Wolves trailed 49-39 heading into halftime.

Randle and Edwards finished the first half a combined 1 for 13, and the Wolves shot just 32%.

Shannon’s strong play continued into the second half, with another 3-for-3 effort from the floor and finished the game with 18 points.

Tough end to first

The Wolves started the night just fine, but as the first quarter played on, their offense ground to halt. They had a 13-8 lead, but the Thunder outscored them 16-4 the rest of the quarter. Their defense struggled at the rim with Gobert out, and the Thunder found cutting and driving lanes to the hoop.

On the offensive end, the Wolves shot just 5 for 19, and they didn’t help themselves when the Thunder couldn’t guard them; they were just 4 for 10 from the free-throw line to open the game.

Up next

The Wolves return home for a game against the Celtics and old friends Luka Garza and Josh Minott on Saturday at 4 p.m.