Thunder 130, Timberwolves 123: A Jaylen Clark Masterpiece Cut Short

The Timberwolves played well for much of the game, but the Thunder’s 3-Point shooting and an injury to Jaylen Clark were too much to overcome.

There was a time not too long ago at Target Center that a game in late February on the front end of a back-to-back would have been a forgettable game for all involved, players and fans alike. The past couple of years all of that has changed.

With the weather warming up in the North Star State The Minnesota Timberwolves took on the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that had incredible energy right from the first play of the game.

The Wolves were shorthanded again in this one without Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo, but Shams Charania of ESPN did report that there is optimism that Randle and DiVincenzo could be close to returning.

The Timberwolves came out of the gates strong, taking an 11-5 lead early in the first quarter. Similar to when these two teams met before the All-Star break, Jaylen Clark played fantastic defense on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, leading to offense on the other end for the Wolves.

After a Thunder timeout, the wheels fell off for the Wolves as OKC outscored Minnesota 45-20 over a 12-minute stretch. While the Wolves had difficulties putting the ball in the basket from anywhere on the court, the Thunder consistently generated good looks both in the paint and from beyond the arc.

Right when the game seemed to be slipping into blowout territory, Anthony Edwards and the Wolves completely flipped the script, finishing the half on a 30-9 run to take a 63-61 lead heading into halftime.

The second half started just like the first with the Wolves as the aggressor early in the period. Midway through the third quarter Minnesota had a seven-point lead when Clark hit his head on the floor after a layup. He left the game and did not return due to what the team called neck pain.

Like they did all night with Clark on the bench, OKC immediately went on an 8-0, erasing Minnesota’s lead to take one of their own. Without Clark, the Timberwolves had no defense option for SGA.

The game would remain close the entire fourth quarter until the Thunder put the hammer down, as they often have this season, hitting five out of six 3-pointers to turn a five-point deficit into an 11-point lead with four minutes left that would be enough to sink the Wolves.

The Timberwolves lost by a score of 130-123. SGA was outstanding the entire game, scoring 37 points on 13-24 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists. Edwards led the way for the Wolves with an inefficient 29 points on 8-21 shooting from the field. Nickeil Alexander-Walker gave the Timberwolves a huge boosts off the bench with 18 points including four 3-pointers.

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Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Jaylen Clark’s Outstanding Outing Ended Early

Since joining the rotation less than a month ago, Jaylen Clark has stepped into his role seamlessly and provided excellent wing defense and solid shot-making when left open. Just 16 games into his NBA career, the second-round pick out of UCLA appears to be an excellent draft selection by the Timberwolves.

Tonight was possibly the best performance of his young career, guarding the leading candidate for MVP and showing the best ability of anyone on the Timberwolves roster to slow him down.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch talked on the podium after the game about what he saw from Clark and the value he was able to provide.

“Yeah, I mean, certainly he was playing great. We missed his tenacity out there, his shot-making, but I thought Nickeil was really good too. But yeah, certainly Jalen was huge.”

The Wolves won the 18 minutes Clark played by 20 points while losing the 30 minutes he was not on the court by 27. If not for his injury in the middle of the third quarter, the Wolves may have been able to win the game as SGA was able to dominate Minnesota without Clark on the court.

In the locker room after the game, Clark did seem to be in good spirits, saying “I’m good” and mentioning he will be heading out with the Wolves for their upcoming road trip, although that doesn’t make him a lock to play in their next game.

Finch also discussed the value another wing defender can provide and why Clark has been so good on that end of the floor.

“Yeah, that’s huge. I think you know standing up these drives is big. He does a good job of not getting screened. He does a good job of dictating contact on and off the ball. And he’s also got good hands.”

With the recent run of injuries, the Wolves have needed to turn to the young guys on their roster, something they did not do at all over the first part of the season when almost the entire roster was perfectly healthy.

Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. have shown potential on the court, but Clark has possibly shown the most on the court among the Wolves rookies. With the Wolves as financially hamstrung as they are, it will be imperative for them to find cheap players who can provide value on the court and Minnesota may have struck gold with Clark.

Right Back at it

The Timberwolves are right back in action tomorrow night for a second straight matchup with the Thunder, this time in Oklahoma City. Tipoff in OKC is at 7:00 PM CT, airing on FanDuel Sports Network North.

Two games separated by less than 23 hours is about as quick a turnaround as you’ll see between NBA games. Add on that it will be the Wolves’ third out of four games against the Thunder and the game stands out as an oddity within an NBA schedule.

Naz Reid talked after the game about his and the team’s mentality when presented with such a weird quirk in the schedule.

“I know I’m built for it. I know a lot of guys in here are built for it. So I think it’s not something we want to overreact about but you know we’re gonna go out there and compete. That’s just what we do, we’re not gonna roll over.”

When asked if he liked playing the same team three out of four games Reid said, “Not really but it’s what we gotta do.”

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