Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves backs in to Jaylin Williams #6 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Paycom Center on January 29, 2024 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ((Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The top two teams in the Western Conference went toe-to-toe Monday night, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are leaving Oklahoma City with a 107-101 win over the Thunder.
Anthony Edwards led five Timberwolves in double figures with 27 points, adding four rebounds and four assists. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 17 rebounds, Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 12 points and Jaden McDaniels added 14 points and three rebounds, including a late tip-in to seal the victory. Edwards became the third-fastest player to 6,000 career points, behind only LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Jordan McLaughlin added 10 points off the bench, mostly in critical spots with the game in the balance.
Edwards did not hold back on the officiating after the win. He had a dunk on the Thunder to give the Timberwolves a 101-97 lead with 1:57 to play, and was irate with the officials after his arm was clearly hit on the way to the rim.
"Cheating a** refs," Edwards shouted as he celebrated with Gobert postgame. "I don’t know, I don’t know and I’m going to take the fine because the refs did not give us no calls tonight. We had to play through every bump, every grab, I don’t know. I don’t know how we won tonight, big shout-out to my team."
The Timberwolves improved to 33-14 on the season after winning the fourth quarter 34-24. They were in danger of losing the No. 1 spot in the West for the first time in more than two months, and sat Mike Conley Jr. due to a sore hamstring. The Thunder lost for just the second time in 30 games this season after leading at half.
"We really did a good job of finishing this game, which we hadn’t been doing. So hopefully it’s a good step and we can build on it," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after the win. "We challenged them about more effort, this is a really good team that makes all the gritty plays. We survived our own adversity. It’s all about making the right play, that’s what we’re preaching to our guys."
The Timberwolves also evened the season series with the Thunder 2-2, which may matter later in the season for playoff seeding.
Minnesota hosts the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night.