Thunder Overcomes Huge First Quarter to Beat Minnesota

OKC gave up a season-high 40 points in the first, but gradually chipped away at the lead for the rest of the night.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:05 pm

By: News On 6

Thunder Overcomes Huge First Quarter to Beat Minnesota

Originally Published: Dec 8, 2010 10:26 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS – The Oklahoma City Thunder gave up a season-high 40 points in the first quarter, but recovered to surrender just 63 for the rest of the night in a 111-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday.

The Thunder (15-8) could not contend with Kevin Love early in the game. Love scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the first quarter alone, out-rebounding the entire Thunder team and leading the Timberwolves (5-17) to a 40-22 lead.

Oklahoma City continued to have problems with Love on the glass, but limited his scoring for the rest of the night. Love finished with 22 points and 21 rebounds, and the Thunder gradually began to chip away at its 18-point deficit.

The Thunder outscored Minnesota in each of the final three quarters and finally took the lead in the fourth. The Wolves pulled within two points several times in the final frame, but OKC answered every time.

The closest Minnesota came to retaking the lead was when Michael Beasley hit a 3-pointer to pull things to 104-103, but Kevin Durant responded with a 3-pointer of his own. The Thunder followed by making four consecutive free throws to seal the outcome.

Following a trend that has run throughout the season, Oklahoma City had strong free-throw shooting all night. The Thunder went 25-of-27 from the charity stripe, while Minnesota went just 17-of-26.

Durant led all scorers with 30 points and registered 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook added 25 points, and Serge Ibaka scored 10 off the bench and blocked eight shots, two shy of a franchise record.

Beasley led the Timberwolves with 26 points, but Love stole the show with his fifth 20-20 performance of the season. The rest of the league has combined to accomplish that feat five times.

The Thunder continues to thrive in pressure situations and is now 11-1 in games decided by seven points or fewer. OKC has traded wins and losses in its last five games, and has not had an extended winning streak since winning five in a row in the middle of November.

The Thunder will play the final game of its road trip at 7 p.m. Friday against the New Orleans Hornets before returning to the Oklahoma City Arena for a four-game home stand.