Thunder Preview: Top Two Teams in the West Battle for Last Time this Season
In this story:
The NBA will have a battle of gigantic proportions on Monday night.
The two teams at the forefront of the Western Conference – the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves – have surpassed preseason expectations with strong season campaigns.
They both own the same record of 32-14, but the Thunder lead the season series 2-1, making it the official No. 1 seed. It will be the final entry in the series, and the Timberwolves will be hungry to tie the series rather than losing it.
Even through considerable success, each team has dealt with underwhelming losses over the past couple of days. Minnesota fell to San Antonio by a single point on Saturday, while Oklahoma City followed up by losing to Detroit by 16 points. They'll both look to rebound, especially in the constantly flip-flopping standings of the West.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Cason Wallace, Minnesota Timberwolves
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
ODDS:
The Thunder enters the day as 2-point favorites to the Timberwolves, and the total over/under is 226 points.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Out of the three games the Thunder and Timberwolves have matched up in, two came within five points. They split victories in those two games, each coming down to the final few seconds.
The other game ended with a 23-point victory for Oklahoma City, where it shot over 60% from the field and forced 24 turnovers from Minnesota. Each starter scored double-digit points, including a 34 point night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The defense has been the force behind the Timberwolves' 32 wins, holding the best defensive rating in the league of 108.9, 1.7 points better than the Boston Celtics next best rating.
The Thunder hasn't exactly found ample amounts of success against the Minnesota defense, but it finds way to close out games. Scoring won't come easy for Oklahoma City, but if it can attack from behind the arc to avoid the paint clogged by Rudy Gobert, it may have more success.
RECORDS:
Oklahoma City Thunder (32-14) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (32-14)
INJURIES:
Check out our live injury tracker, along with our game day injury report that will release later today.
WHEN:
Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 at 7 p.m. CT
LOCATION:
Paycom Center — Oklahoma City, OK
TV/RADIO:
Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start Your Free Trial)
FINAL WORD:
It will be a massively important game for both the Thunder and Timberwolves, and whoever wins will have a significant advantage if both teams remain stuck together throughout the rest of the season.
Oklahoma City will follow by facing off against another top team in the West and reigning NBA Champion Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 7:00 p.m. CT in Paycom Center.
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