Takeaways: Timberwolves thump NBA-best Thunder 123-111 for third victory in a row

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 30, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — After losing to the Golden State Warriors four days earlier, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a team meeting to air out some issues with the team riding a five-game losing streak.

They haven’t lost in the three games since, this time coming away with a 123-111 victory over the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Instead of a smattering of boos from the Target Center crowd, they were on their feet multiple times throughout the fourth quarter as the Wolves played one of their most complete games of the season.

In order to beat the Thunder, teams typically need contributions up and down the roster, and the Wolves got those in a big way from the likes of Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels. Reid had 18 points (6-for-10 shooting) and seven rebounds off the bench while McDaniels turned in an exemplary night of work at both ends of the floor. He finished with 21 points on 5-for-5 from three-point range.

Anthony Edwards had 26 points for the Wolves, shooting 9-for-17, and Rudy Gobert finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Defending league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points for last year’s NBA champions.

The Wolves remain as mercurial as ever. After losing five in a row, the Wolves have now won three consecutive games and knocked off the defending champions again at home, improving their record to 2-1 against the Thunder this season.

If January has shown anything about the Wolves, it’s that they are capable of big swings in their quality of play. Some of their best and worst basketball has come in the month, not that far apart from each other.

The Wolves had 22 points off nine Thunder turnovers in the first half. The Wolves were turning defense into offense at a great clip in the first half, and that’s what enabled them to build a double-digit lead early. That was compared to the Thunder converting eight Wolves turnovers into just eight points.

The Wolves have lacked motivation at times this season at the start of games. That’s rarely the case against the Thunder, and that proved to be true again on this night.

The Wolves were up by as many as 14 points in the first after hitting 8-for-15 from three-point range, 50% overall. They held the Thunder to 8-for-22 shooting and had a 34-22 lead after one quarter. Bones Hyland, Edwards and McDaniels each had a pair of threes.

Mike Conley was out for the second end of this back-to-back as he missed the game because of back spasms, the team said. Gobert came into the game questionable because of a sprained left ankle, but he was able to play.

The Wolves again play the same opponent at the same site two games in a row, with games at Memphis on Saturday and Monday.