Thunder-Timberwolves Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Apr 14 2012 12:03AM

The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves met, the teams' three All-Stars put on a show in the highest-scoring NBA game of the season.

The chances of a contest resembling that one is highly improbable considering the state of the depleted Timberwolves, with Kevin Love leading a lengthy injury list.

The Western Conference-leading Thunder have won 11 straight in the series heading into Saturday night's matchup at Target Center.

In one of the most entertaining games of the season, Oklahoma City (43-16) needed two overtimes to win 149-140 on March 23. Love scored a franchise-record 51 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a duel with former UCLA teammate Russell Westbrook, who led the Thunder with a career-high 45 points.

Kevin Durant had 40 points and 17 rebounds, as he and Westbrook became the first set of teammates to score at least 40 in two games in a season.

J.J. Barea recorded his first career triple-double and the first for Minnesota since Kevin Garnett in 2007. Barea finished with 25 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

He's one of the few Timberwolves currently available and had eight stitches in his lip due to a collision suffered in Thursday's 95-82 loss to the Clippers. Minnesota (25-35) has lost eight straight as it plays without Love (concussion), Ricky Rubio (knee surgery), Luke Ridnour (ankle) and Wayne Ellington (back spasms).

"It can't get any worse, man," Barea said. "It can't get any worse."

Only Chicago has a better record than the Thunder, who led by as many as 32 points in Friday's 115-89 home rout of Sacramento. Durant led Oklahoma City with 29 points and nine rebounds and was the only Thunder player to log 30 minutes in preparation for Saturday's start of a five-game trip.

With the outcome of Friday's mismatch never in doubt, all Oklahoma City wanted to talk about afterward was a dunk by Westbrook that could only be described as "Thunder-ous" - a one-handed, high-rising slam of Durant's alley-oop.

"That was one of the most athletic plays I've ever seen," Durant said. "I think it was probably the dunk of the year."

Westbrook added 22 points and Serge Ibaka blocked seven shots to hike his league-leading total to 213.

Oklahoma City leads San Antonio by one game in the West ahead of its final trip of the season.

"We just have to take it one day at a time," center Kendrick Perkins told the Thunder's official website. "I think one game at a time and keep getting better, keep taking steps forward and none backwards and I think we'll be alright."

Westbrook could be out to attack Barea since he is the only healthy point guard available for the Wolves. Minnesota is enduring its longest skid since a 15-game slide to end last season.

"It's really hard to run an offense because we just don't have any chemistry right now because of all the different players that are playing," coach Rick Adelman said. "We're missing the ballhandling, we've gotta have J.J. with the ball and it's really been difficult."

Durant, Westbrook combine for 78 v. Wolves

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Apr 15 2012 2:44AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) At one point during the fourth quarter, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman was so desperate to stop Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook that he put 6-foot-11 Anthony Randolph on the Oklahoma City Thunder's star point guard.

That, like practically everything else the Timberwolves and the rest of the NBA have tried this season, didn't work, either.

Durant scored 43 points and Westbrook had 35 and eight assists to keep the Thunder atop the Western Conference with a 115-110 victory over the Timberwolves on Saturday night.

"I don't think we ever thought we'd be putting Randolph on Westbrook in the fourth quarter and whoever on Durant," Adelman said. "We were trying anything to find answers."

Try again.

Durant scored 16 in the final seven minutes for the Thunder (44-16), who started the day one game ahead of the Spurs - but tied in the loss column - for the top seed in the West. After a three-game losing streak earlier this month, the Thunder have won four of their last five games.

"We want to win as much games as we can going down to the stretch of the season," Durant said. "Hopefully we get (the No. 1 seed). If not, we've just got to keep playing. We can't worry about that. We've just got to worry about how we can get better every single game."

Anthony Randolph had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Beasley scored 26 for the Timberwolves, who lost their ninth straight game and 25th in a row in April dating to 2009.

The Wolves were without All-Star Kevin Love, who missed his second straight game with a concussion. J.J. Barea had 24 points and 10 assists, but Minnesota missed 12 free throws.

Barea's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 112-110 with 13.8 seconds to play, but Westbrook iced the game at the line, where the Thunder hit 28 of 32 shots.

Serge Ibaka had eight points, 12 rebounds and five blocks and James Harden returned from a one-game absence because of a sore right knee. He scored six on 1-for-11 shooting.

The Wolves gave the Thunder all they could handle in their first two meetings, losing 104-100 in the season opener and 149-140 in an epic double overtime game in Oklahoma City on March 23. But they had Love in both of those games and weren't expected to give the mighty Thunder much trouble on Saturday night playing without Love, Ricky Rubio (knee) and Luke Ridnour (ankle).

The Thunder appeared to be taking control with a 10-0 run to start the third quarter, but Beasley and Randolph kept the plucky Wolves in the game and Barea looked more like the annoying pest who helped the Mavericks win the title last season.

Randolph converted a three-point play and knocked down a jumper, Malcolm Lee had a three-point play and Beasley hit a 15-footer to cut the lead to 91-90 with 10 minutes to play.

"We're just out there trying to be scrappy," Beasley said. "Kevin might not be here for the rest of the season. That's 26 points, sometimes 40 points and 20 boards. Everybody has to step up and we're trying to finish this season with a bang."

Durant simply had an answer for every Wolves push. He blew by Anthony Tolliver for a dunk, knocked down a silky jump shot from the wing, scored on a back-down in the post and drove past Randolph for another bucket and a 105-97 lead with just under 4 minutes to go.

He even came up big on defense, forcing a traveling violation by Randolph and poking the ball away to create a fast-break bucket for Westbrook to hold the Wolves off.

"Sometimes I don't have to score, I can make a pass, but my teammates did a great job man," Durant said. "Russell had it going in the third and he sacrificed for me to get some easy baskets."

Westbrook was 12 of 25 from the floor, and he's received some criticism for the amount of shots he takes and not being more of a playmaking point guard that keeps his teammates, particularly Durant, more involved. Adelman scoffed at that notion before the game, saying "everybody doesn't have to be John Stockton."

"If they're really down on him, he can come over here," Adelman deadpanned. "I'll let him play."

NOTES: It was Durant's fourth 40-point game of the season. ... The Wolves announced a crowd of 19,552, their 11th sellout of the season. That's the most since they went to the Western Conference finals in 2003-04. ... Timberwolves G Wayne Ellington was active after missing the previous two games with back spasms. He did not play.

Notebook: Thunder 115, Timberwolves 110

Posted Saturday April 14, 2012 11:37PM

By Jim Beilby, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: No Love for the Wolves and a big night for Kevin Durant led to a victory on Saturday night for the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 115-110. Kevin Love missed the game after suffering a mild concussion on Wednesday in Denver and Durant scored 43 points for the Thunder.

Despite the differences in their records, each of the contests between these teams this year has been very close and hard-fought, and tonight was no exception. On December 26, the Thunder held off Minnesota for a 104-100 win and on March 26, Oklahoma City outlasted the Wolves in a 149-140, double-overtime thriller. In the double-overtime game, Minnesota had no answer for the Durant/Russell Westbrook combo as they combined for 85 points. Tonight it was a similar story as Durant and Westbrook together scored 78.

While J.J. Barea led Minnesota with 24 points and 10 assists, it was Minnesota's bench that kept them in this game, as they out-scored the Thunders' bench 54-18. Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph led Minnesota's bench with 26 and 22 respectively. Randolph has filled in admirably in Love's absence, averaging 22.0 ppg on 18-for-28 shooting (.643) in the last two games.

QUOTABLE: "Every game (against Minnesota) is close. It's an overtime game or a last-two minute game. They play with a lot of confidence against us. Give them credit. They shot the ball well."
-- Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks

THE STAT: Despite being 26th in the league in field goal percentage, Minnesota outshot Oklahoma City, the No. 2 team in the league, 50 percent to 44 percent. Where Oklahoma City made the difference was in rebounding, outrebounding Minnesota 61-48, and free throw percentage, making 28-of-32 free throws.

TURNING POINT: After Minnesota closed the score to 99-97 with 5:40 to play, Oklahoma City went on a 10-2 run, keyed by eight points from Durant and a pair by Westbrook. Minnesota tried to make it interesting, but the Thunder hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory

QUOTABLE II: "You've got to give our guys a lot of credit. We played with a lot of energy tonight. That's a great team with two great players, and we competed the whole time."
-- Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

NOTABLE: With the loss tonight, Minnesota's losing streak now stands at nine, a season high. And they have lost 12 straight to Oklahoma City.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Monday @ Indiana, Tuesday vs. Memphis, Thursday @ Detroit. For the Thunder, Monday @ Clippers, Wednesday @ Phoenix, Friday @ Sacramento.

• Thunder: Jackson, Maynor
• Timberwolves: Ridnour, Rubio

• Thunder: --
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #42 Eric Lewis, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 19552
• Duration: 2:20