Thunder's Mark Daigneault's process behind small-ball move in win vs Timberwolves
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On Sunday, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault guided his team to a 130-123 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder secured the win on Daigneault’s birthday. The game was undoubtedly a game of runs before Oklahoma City kept its opponent at bay in the final frame.
After the Timberwolves ended the first half on a 30-9 run, the Thunder responded with an 18-2 fourth-quarter run to secure a seven-point win. Daigneault went with a small-ball lineup after the third quarter and addressed what led to that decision seven-point lead.
“In the moment. It was good [in] the late first [quarter],” Daigneault said. “We went small there, and it was effective, and then they had us in rotation with some of our coverages. And we just had a hard time staying ahead of the ball. With five minutes to go or so, I had a timeout. I just wanted to kind of flip it out there and see what it looked like, and those guys sprung a nice run.
“So, really, really good job by those guys just adjusting on both ends of the floor. That opened up the game at the end,” Daigneault concluded.
With Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault’s bench wings, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, joined by starters Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Alex Caruso running the point, the Thunder kept the Timberwolves at bay before Nickeil Alexander-Walker caught fire for Minnesota. Then, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 31 of his game-high 37 points through three quarters, checked back into the game to close out the win alongside Holmgren (19 points) and Williams (18 points, nine assists).
“Yeah, it was a 48-minute game,” Daigneault added. “There [were] a lot of swings in that game. It was a high-variance game. It wasn’t our best game defensively, but I thought, after a drought offensively at the end of the first half, I thought we came out in the second half; I really liked the way we were attacking. How decisive we were and how intentional we were about how they were guarding us, I thought we really got better there.”
Chet Holmgren on the Thunder’s ‘savior of basketball’
After Sunday’s win against the Timberwolves, Thunder forward Chet Holmgren praised Aaron Wiggins for his production off the bench. Wiggins led the second unit with 15 points, including 4-of-4 from deep, 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, and one block in 19 minutes.
Holmgren discussed Wiggins’ impact during his postgame interview with ESPN’s SportsCenter.
“We got the savior of basketball, Aaron Wiggins, out here doing his thing,” Holmgren said. “So, it really raises the floor on what our team can do.”
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 24, 2025
The Thunder will face the Timberwolves at the Paycom Center on Monday.
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