THUNDER WIRE Trying to create a play, Chet Holmgren had the ball knocked away from his possession. Anthony Edwards added to Minnesota’s monstrous turnover tally. He was rewarded for the steal when he ran to the corner and knocked down the outside jumper in the final seconds of the third frame.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were straight-up bullied in a 123-111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Trailing for the entire night, they looked as flat as day-old soda. The final score didn’t tell the full story in a game; they were behind by as many as 22 points.

“I thought they made some tough ones tonight, especially in the second half. I thought we tried to get a little more energy going defensively and some of those are just tough shot-making on pretty good possessions,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “Early in the game, I thought there was a lot we could control. Edwards got a lot of loose change in the first quarter that got him going. We had some lapses in some of our defensive schemes that got those guys loose for threes. To their credit, they burned us with the shot-making, but there was plenty that I think we could’ve controlled.”

Even with Isaiah Hartenstein back — albeit on a minutes restriction — the Thunder continue to struggle putting the ball through the hoop. As long as Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell remain out, expect the opposition to feel comfortable blitzing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Timberwolves’ bet to dare the rest of OKC to beat them paid off. Meanwhile, they had a red-hot outside shooting night from the jump. Jaden McDaniels scored a 3-pointer to force the Thunder to call an early timeout. Bones Hyland joined in on the fun.

The Thunder were in a 34-22 deficit after the first quarter. Things only got worse from there. After Kenrich Williams forced a turnover, he immediately coughed it up. McDaniels made the corner attempt. OKC only had 28 points in the second frame. It entered halftime in a 63-50 deficit.

Even though it was only a 13-point deficit, it felt like 33. Eventually, reality caught up with the vibes. Donte DiVincenzo swished in an outside jumper. The Thunder were in an 84-65 hole with a little over five minutes left in the third frame. They looked completely lifeless as poor shot attempts mixed with bad ball security made this one-sided.

The Thunder scored 30 points in the third quarter. But it didn’t matter. They were in a 96-80 hole. The fourth quarter became mostly inconsequential. There were a couple of times where they made some decent runs, but Minnesota answered back.

Even with Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30 points, it didn’t matter. The Thunder eventually pulled the plug. They scored 31 points in the final frame to pretty up the margin, but the Timberwolves had them in a headlock for nearly three hours in another statement game.

The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 11-of-31 (35.5%) from 3. They shot 18-of-20 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 41 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander had an efficient 30 points and eight assists. Holmgren finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Hartenstein had 11 points and five rebounds. Cason Wallace tallied 13 points. Aaron Wiggins finished with 10 points and five assists.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves shot 51% from the field and went 22-of-47 (46.8%) from 3. They shot 11-of-18 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 45 baskets. Six Timberwolves players scored double-digit points.

Edwards led the way with 26 points, five assists and five rebounds. McDaniels had 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Rudy Gobert tallied a 14-point and 11-rebound double- double. Naz Reid helped with 18 points and seven rebounds. Julius Randle had 13 points and five rebounds. DiVincenzo had 11 points.

The Thunder have looked pretty pedestrian in their last month’s worth of games. Seeing them lose like this has sadly become normalized. The reigning NBA champions might be the title favorite, but the gap from the rest of the field is thinner now than it was in November.

Going into Minnesota without a secondary scorer is a recipe for disaster. And that’s what happened. Even if Gilgeous-Alexander does what he usually does, you can’t win games one-onfive — especially against a contender like the Timberwolves. OKC continues to go along a difficult stretch without some of its key players. The injuries and lack of go-to scorers have exposed some weaknesses.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 5-of-5 on free throws. He also had one steal.

Even with Minnesota going all out to limit Gilgeous-Alexander, he still put up an efficient 30 points. Slicing his way through one of the league’s best defenses, he managed to get to the rim with several circus finishes that showcased why he’s one of the best drivers in league history.

“I thought we fought a lot of pressure, especially early. I thought we were trying to do too much with the dribble, even just up the floor, and got them a head start on those possessions,” Daigneault said. “We had a hard time cracking them and the live ball turnovers were obviously a huge issue.”

The offense continues to go through peaks and valleys. This was a valley. Holmgren faded into the background. To the point that he scored most of his buckets on easy looks around the rim. While that’s awesome for the efficiency, you needed a little bit more on-ball juice to keep up with Minnesota’s hot shooting.

Holmgren finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, five rebounds and two assists. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had three blocks and one steal.

Under a minutes restriction, Hartenstein came off the bench. The Thunder lost the rebounding battle, but it didn’t even matter in this one. That said, he somewhat helped in that department as he crashed the glass and even caught a few second-chance looks.

Hartenstein finished with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, five rebounds and two assists. He shot 5-of-6 on free throws.

Now that a huge piece of the puzzle is assembled back, the Thunder are close to playing their brand of basketball. Hartenstein helped them have an old-school center who can roll to the basket. The constant dunk threat is an element they’ve desperately missed over the last month.

OKC Thunder travel to Denver Sunday to take on the Nuggets.

The game is set to start at 8:30 p.m. and can be viewed on NBC and the Peacock Network.

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