NBA regular season: Alexander 33 points Edwards conceded key free throws Thunder reversed Timberwolves

On January 21, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the West staged a strong dialogue, and the second Thunder in the West faced the West No. 1 Timberwolves on the road. The Thunder led by 16 points in the first quarter, the Timberwolves rallied in the second quarter to build a 12-point lead in the second half, and the Thunder completed a comeback in the fourth quarter to beat the Timberwolves 102-97. Alexander scored 33 points, contributing 11 points in the fourth quarter and hitting a three-pointer with 1:14 left before the break, and Edwards missed a chance to tie the score with three free throws with four seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Thunder won two in a row, and the Timberwolves' four-game winning streak ended, narrowing the gap between the Thunder and the Timberwolves to one.

Statistics

Thunder: Alexander 33 points and 6 assists, Jalen Williams 20 points, Holmgren 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks, Dort 14 points.

Timberwolves: Edwards 19 points, Towns 19 points and 11 rebounds, McDaniels 15 points, Gobert 7 points and 18 rebounds, Naz Reed 18 points, Lee Kyle 5 points and 4 assists.

Star of the game: Alexander

The game was very intense, and Alexander showed the hard power of the MVP contender, leading the Thunder with a strong individual offense, and completed the fourth quarter of the comeback to tackle the Timberwolves.

Highlight reel moments

Alexander tore through the Timberwolves defense.

Talented, tough, Edwards attacked the basket.

The Thunder's defensive counterattack flowed.

Familiar rhythm, Li Kaier sent an assist.

Holmgren turned around and shot in the middle of the shot, which was a silky smooth.

Just ask the defender if his ankle hurts? McLaughlin cut in.

Hold high and play high, the Timberwolves twin towers are connected.

The basket was hard to match, and Holmgren blocked Gobert.

Naz Reed made a three-point shot.

Game recap

Alexander scored four points in a row in the opening game, Holmgren responded to Alexander's three-point shot, the Timberwolves made consecutive errors, Giddey scored on the counterattack, and the Thunder started the game 9-0. Towns hit a throw-in to end the Timberwolves' scoring drought, and McDaniels hit a three-pointer as the Timberwolves launched a counterattack. The Thunder strengthened their defense, the Timberwolves made more mistakes and the shooting was also inaccurate, the Thunder played defensive counterattacks to score points, and with Giddey's throw, the Thunder led by 11 points to stop the Timberwolves, and the Timberwolves only scored 5 points in the first half of the first quarter. After the timeout, the Timberwolves missed two consecutive offenses, and Jalen Williams and Dort combined to score points, and the Thunder extended the offensive run in the first quarter to 21-5, bringing the margin to 16 points. Edwards hit a three-point shot to "stop the bleeding" for the Timberwolves, and McDaniels scored five points in a row, and the Timberwolves fought to catch up. Alexander scored four straight points before assisting Isaiah Joe for a three-pointer on the counterattack to give the Thunder a 15-point lead. Lee Kyle assisted Naz Reed to score a long-range shot, Lee Kyle hit his own three-point shot, Edwards hit 2+1, and the Timberwolves ended the first quarter with a wave of 9-0, and the Timberwolves trailed the Thunder by 6 points at 24-30.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Towns led the Timberwolves to attack the basket and played a wave of 9-2 offensive to achieve a comeback in the score. The Timberwolves got into the rhythm of the offense, and after opening up on the inside, the outside also found their crosshairs, Naz Reid and McLaughlin hit three-pointers in succession, and the Timberwolves took a six-point lead. Alexander scored back-to-back points to lead the Thunder to catch up, and the Thunder went on a 17-8 run in the second half of the second quarter to outrun the Timberwolves by three points at 57-54 at the end of the first half. Alexander had 18 points and five assists in the first half.

At the start of the second half, McDaniels hit a three-point shot to blow the Timberwolves' attack horn, Edwards burst inside and outside, Conley provided outside firepower support, and the Timberwolves overtook 5 points with a wave of 12-4. The Timberwolves went from strength to strength, Naz Reed hit two three-pointers in a row, Nickeil Alexander Walker added another long-range shot for the Timberwolves, and Edwards scored in a rush to the basket to extend the lead to 12 points to stop the Thunder. After a timeout, Alexander hit a layup, Towns made two foul throws, and Jaylin Williams hit a three-pointer to give the Thunder nine points into the fourth quarter with a 74-83 trail. The Timberwolves scored 12 points against the Thunder at 29-17 in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Towns made two foul free throws, and the Timberwolves led by 11 points. Jaylin Williams and Jalen Williams teamed up to score points to help the Thunder catch up, and Lee Kyle assisted Towns for a slam dunk to fight back. Alexander scored from the middle distance, Isaiah Joe hit a three-pointer, Alexander made a steal and counterattacked, made a foul and hit both free throws, and the Thunder rose up to narrow the gap to 2 points to stop the Timberwolves. After returning from a timeout, Edwards missed a pass and was tackled by Jalen Williams, and Alexander hit a turnaround jumper to tie the score. Towns made two fouls and made both free throws, and Alexander hit a layup for the basket to keep the game tied. Edwards hit the basket, Dort hit one of two free throws, McDaniels missed a three-point shot, Alexander stepped back and hit a three-pointer, and the Thunder took a two-point lead. With 59 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Thunder fouled Gobert, Gobert hit one of two free throws, Holmgren missed Gobert's defensive jumper, Conley missed three points, Towns fouled six fouls and left the court, Jalen Williams made both free throws, the Thunder led by three points, and there were 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Naz Reed layup, Holmgren interfered with the ball, the Timberwolves scored two points, the Timberwolves adopted foul tactics, Isaiah Joe made two free throws, Edwards made a three-point shot to create a foul, if all three free throws were scored to tie the score, but Edwards missed all three free throws, the Timberwolves continued to foul, Jalen Williams hit both free throws, the game time ran out, and the Thunder won.

Both sides start

Thunder: Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Dort, Giddey, Alexander

Timberwolves: Gobert, Towns, McDaniels, Edwards, Conley