Thunder vs. Timberwolves score: Karl-Anthony Towns leads Minnesota to victory, first-round date with Nuggets

Minnesota blew out Oklahoma City to earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference

The Minnesota Timberwolves earned the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 120-95 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday in the final game of the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament. The Wolves will face the No. 1 seed Denver Nuggets in the first round, with Game 1 set for Sunday night, while the loss eliminated Oklahoma City from the postseason.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the way for Minnesota with 28 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks on 11-for-16 shooting. Wolves forward Anthony Edwards bounced back from a disastrous performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Returning from a one-game suspension for an altercation with teammate Kyle Anderson, Wolves center Rudy Gobert put up 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Thunder struggled to get anything going against a tough Wolves defense, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced OKC with 22 points, but shot just 5 for 19 from the field. Thunder guard Josh Giddey, coming off a 31-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, struggled mightily while going 2 for 13 from the field.

Here are a few takeaways from the Timberwolves' victory, along with a recap of our live updates.

A very dominant KAT

He's certainly had his missteps in big moments, but when Towns is good, he's really good. The 7-footer was essentially getting whatever he wanted all night, and resisted the temptation to stay on the perimeter, using his size to get to the rim and gather offensive rebounds.

The Wolves were particularly dominant with KAT on the floor and Gobert off, as the absence of a traditional big man opened up the floor for shooters and drivers. It won't work defensively against some teams (the Nuggets perhaps being one of them), but the Towns-at-center minutes can be particularly effective for Minnesota's offense.

A very patient Ant

Maturity manifests itself in different ways, and it was revealing to watch Edwards' approach on Friday. After having one of the worst games of his life against the Lakers on Tuesday (3 for 17, 0 for 9 from 3-point range), it would have been easy for the 21-year-old to come out firing, hoping to make up for his poor performance by shooting a lot. Instead, Edwards was incredibly patient, getting his teammates involved, making the right play and focusing on defense. He got to the rim a couple of times early, which opened things up for his jump shot later.

Overall it was an incredibly complete and controlled performance from an emerging star.

Thunder on the rise

Even though they didn't make the playoffs, the fact that the Thunder even made the play-in puts them way ahead of schedule, given the age of their roster. They can look forward to another first-round pick and the return of Chet Holmgren next season, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has gone from a solid part of the equation to the center of it. Anticipating the continued evolution of Giddey and Jalen Williams, it's hard to imagine that the Thunder won't be back in the playoffs next year, and for the foreseeable future.

[Apr 15, 2023 at 12:14 am ET · Colin Ward-Henninger]

Final: Timberwolves 120, Thunder 95

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 28 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
• Rudy Gobert: 21 points, 10 rebounds  
• Anthony Edwards: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:  22 points (5 for 19 from the field)

[Apr 14, 2023 at 11:39 pm ET · Colin Ward-Henninger]

End of 3rd quarter: Wolves 95, Thunder 78

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks
• Anthony Edwards: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
• Rudy Gobert: 13 points, 8 rebounds
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• Jalen Williams: 14 points, 5 assists, 2 steals
• Lu Dort: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals

[Apr 14, 2023 at 11:32 pm ET · Colin Ward-Henninger]

Here comes OKC

Hey, it's the NBA, so you know the losing team is going to go on a run, right? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been ultra aggressive in bringing his team back and the Thunder have gone to a zone to try to limit some of the paint points. Minnesota still has a 10-point cushion, but this is where OKC having nothing to lose and the Wolves coming in with expectations -- at home -- might start to play into nerves as the final quarter unfolds.

[Apr 14, 2023 at 11:24 pm ET · Colin Ward-Henninger]

Wolves pulling away

OKC can't seem to find answers on either end, as the Wolves are absolutely dominating points in the paint (two Towns and-ones were a huge momentum swing) and packing the paint defensively, forcing the Thunder out of their rhythm. That being said, we just saw Minnesota blow a late lead to the Lakers, and Josh Giddey is at least showing some signs of life. OKC is going to have to start knocking down some 3s (10 for 28 tonight) and getting some stops (Wolves shooting 52 percent) if they're going to mount the comeback.