Oklahoma City Thunder Tames Timberwolves

Originally Published: Apr 4, 2010 7:14 PM CDT

Andrew Topps
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City defeated Minnesota 116-108 Sunday in a tale of two halves. The win marks the third straight for the Thunder.

Kevin Durant had 40 points to go along with nine rebounds. Russell Westbrook had a career-high 16 assists and finished with 10 points, while Jeff Green added 16 points and 10 boards for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City scored a season-high 43 points in the first quarter thanks to shooting more than 70 percent from the floor. The Thunder led by 22 points at halftime, but the Timberwolves would not go away.

The Thunder went cold in the third quarter, scoring just two points in nearly five minutes. The Timberwolves capitalized by going a 13-2 run to erase a 20-point deficit.

Minnesota pulled to within six points of Oklahoma City several times in the fourth quarter. But the Thunder responded to the threat, and went on a 10-3 run to push its advantage back into double-digit territory.

It was all Thunder in the first half, led by Durant’s 20 points in the opening quarter.

The Thunder broke a 16-16 game wide open in the middle of the first by outscoring the Timberwolves 27-9 to end the quarter. Oklahoma City led 43-25 at the end of the first quarter.

It was a similar story in the second quarter. Even though the Thunder cooled off, the home team still outscored the visitors by four points to take a 72-50 lead into halftime

Ryan Gomes and Jonny Flynn each had 22 points for the T-wolves.

The Thunder will be back in action against the Utah Jazz at 6 p.m. Tuesday, in Salt Lake City.