Zach LaVine erurpted for 35 points off the bench Wednesday night, setting a franchise scoring record for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The T-Pups came to play, and delivered plenty of highlights, but it still wasn’t enough against the visiting OKC Thunder.
Russell Westbrook (24 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds) and Kevin Durant (27 points, nine rebounds and five assists) led OKC to a tough 126-123 road win.
Per the AP:
Kevin Durant has had the ball in his hands with the game on the line so many times that he feels totally carefree in the game’s biggest moments. […] The young Minnesota Timberwolves stars don’t have the same comfort level yet, and that was the difference on Wednesday night.
Zach LaVine scored 35 points on 14-for-17 shooting, Andrew Wiggins added 20 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points, 13 boards and five assists for the Timberwolves. Minnesota shot 55.6 percent and had 31 assists, but missed 10 free throws. […] “We played tremendously well today. This is a game we can live with,” Towns said. “We’ve just got to finish. KD hit some amazing shots at the end that really gave his team the spark to win.”
The second-year guard made 5 of 8 3-pointers and went 9 for 9 on the rest of his field goals. His 35 points set a franchise record for scoring from a bench player and are the most a non-starter has scored in the NBA this season. […] “He’s playing fast, but thinking slow,” Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said.
