Thunder Struggle on the Glass as Wolves Dominate in One-Sided Matchup
Isaiah Hartenstein made his long-awaited return, but it wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding. From the opening tip, Minnesota came out firing-and never looked back.
Anthony Edwards set the tone early, drilling back-to-back threes to open the game and send the home crowd into a frenzy. That early spark lit a fire under the Timberwolves, who controlled the first quarter and then blew the game wide open before halftime.
The numbers tell the story: Minnesota knocked down 22 of their 47 threes and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds. That’s a recipe for a blowout.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued to be a bright spot for Oklahoma City, finishing with 30 points on an efficient 12-of-18 shooting night. But five turnovers from the All-Star guard added to the Thunder’s ongoing possession issues-an Achilles heel that’s been haunting them lately.
Hartenstein, back after missing 16 games, came off the bench and logged 18 minutes. He looked energized, even if the team around him didn’t.
He got to the line six times and had a moment of grit, ripping away a rare offensive rebound from Bones Hyland while the Thunder trailed by 17. It was a flash of the toughness OKC has been missing in the middle-but it didn’t spark a rally.
Cason Wallace also returned from injury, coming off the bench. The reinforcements were welcome, but they couldn’t change the tone of the game.
Hyland, for his part, had a night to forget on defense. His lapses were glaring, and at times, unintentionally comical. He became the unlikely symbol of OKC’s defensive breakdowns-trying to plug holes in a ship that was already taking on water.
There were a few highlight moments, like Isaiah Joe shaking Hyland and splashing a wide-open three with one of the cleanest releases you’ll see. But those flashes were few and far between.
Meanwhile, Minnesota kept piling on. Another rebound.
Another three. Another reminder of how much ground the Thunder have to make up in the physicality department.
The game wasn’t without its drama. Edwards and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault both took issue with a whistle in the second quarter-Edwards for getting called after shoving Lu Dort, and Daigneault for wanting a flagrant.
Edwards delayed the game, picked up a technical after a replay review, and kept jawing long after the play. Whether it was gamesmanship or just frustration boiling over, it was a moment that underlined how charged this matchup had become.
Later in the third quarter, Hartenstein set a backcourt screen that sent Edwards crashing to the floor. Ant stayed down, made a trip to the locker room, and returned looking no worse for wear. Theatrics aside, it was another example of the physical tone Minnesota set-and OKC struggled to match.
The Thunder’s rebounding woes were on full display. A game after showing signs of life on the glass-particularly from Chet Holmgren-those concerns came roaring back.
Oklahoma City is dead last in offensive rebounding among playoff-caliber teams, and they’re near the bottom in opponent second-chance points. It’s not just a size issue-it’s instincts, positioning, and effort.
Watching Minnesota grab board after board, you could see all three of those things missing.
One sequence stood out: four Thunder players in the paint, two Wolves, and somehow Jaylen Clark ends up with a wide-open putback. That’s the kind of breakdown that makes you hit rewind just to believe it actually happened.
Some of OKC’s rebounding numbers are padded by their strong block rate, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Their three-point defense is also an issue-ranking near the bottom in both volume and efficiency allowed.
When you’re giving up second chances and open threes, you’re playing with fire. And on this night, they got burned.
The Thunder will look to bounce back against the Nuggets on Sunday. And yes, they’ll need to rebound-in every sense of the word.