Contesting as perfectly as you could hope, Cason Wallace’s presence didn’t matter. Anthony Edwards dribbled to the left-wing spot and drilled a pull-up 3-pointer. On the other end, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander couldn’t answer. His rival swatted away a driving layup attempt. Shortly afterward, he committed a rare turnover.

The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t generate enough big moments in their 112-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. This one had a playoff-esque feel to it — or at least as close as you can get to that feeling before Christmas.

“Credit them, great crowd, great night. I thought they played really well. They hung with the game. They were hungry for the game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought we did some really good things in some moments and there’s a lot we can learn from it. But credit Minnesota. They were the better team tonight.”

To start, the theatrics were amped up from the jump. It didn’t even take six minutes before the referee crew had enough of Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch. He was thrown out. The show continued as he charged at the officials before a group stopped him. He was kicked out as his plan eventually worked.

After that, the Thunder had the early control. They had a 33-23 lead over the Timberwolves after the first quarter. Things were looking well. And then the second frame happened. As Gilgeous-Alexander rested, OKC’s second unit offense melted.

The Timberwolves had the Thunder play in slow motion. Julius Randle cleaned up the offensive boards. Bones Hyland couldn’t miss from the outside. Meanwhile, Jalen Williams’ drives led nowhere quickly. It didn’t take long for Minnesota to get right back into it.

The Thunder only scored 18 points in the second frame. Too often did the offense stall. They entered halftime with a small 51-48 lead over the Timberwolves. OKC was given a chance to balloon a double-digit point lead, but Minnesota instead made it a one-possession contest.

Hoping to shake things up, the Thunder went with Isaiah Joe over Isaiah Hartenstein to start the second half. Maybe the scoring would get better with their best 3-point shooter getting quality looks from the attention Gilgeous-Alexander demands. A solid idea on paper, but the trade-offs were exposed on the other end.

The Thunder and Timberwolves went back and forth. The lead see-sawed between the two teams. Donte DiVincenzo got hot from the outside. The Minnesota crowd loved that momentum. Edwards finally got going after a quiet first half. For OKC, Alex Caruso got lost in the competition. 10 rebounds as a guard materialized that. He loves these types of environments.

The Thunder scored 34 points in the third frame but only had an 85-83 lead. It was obvious this game would come down to the final possessions. As Naz Reid went on a mini-run to open the fourth frame, that was enough for Gilgeous-Alexander to check back in with seven minutes left as OKC was in a 95-91 hole.

It didn’t take long for Gilgeous-Alexander to take over. A bucket and free-throw trip had the Thunder in a 102-100 lead with a little under three minutes left. It felt like the reigning MVP would add to his resume with another clutch-time performance as he drags OKC to the finish line.

Instead, Edwards answered back. And eventually took over. About time. He’s tried his best to drum up a classic NBA rivalry with Gilgeous-Alexander. He hasn’t been afraid to talk a little smack online and in commercials. But the results on the court haven’t given him a leg to stand on. Likely frustrated with that, he finally had his first checkmate moment.

Failing to grab Randle’s missed free throw in a textbook box-out situation, the Thunder played with fire and got burned. The Timberwolves grabbed the missed free throw. Edwards went after Wallace and knocked down the outside jumper. Just like that, the Thunder went from a 107-104 lead with 53 seconds left to a 108-107 deficit with 38 seconds left.

Gilgeous-Alexander couldn’t answer on the other end. A blocked layup and turnover sealed the result. The Thunder only scored 22 points in the final frame as they were scoreless in the final 69 seconds. The Timberwolves rattled off the last eight points in that stretch.

The Thunder shot 37% from the field and went 11-of-39 (28.2%) from 3. They shot 28-of-30 on free throws. They had 16 assists on 34 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 35 points and seven assists. Williams had 17 points and seven rebounds. Holmgren tallied 14 points and five rebounds. Lu Dort scored 11 points and went 3-of-10 from the outside. Ajay Mitchell had 14 points off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves shot 38% from the field and went 13-of-37 (35.1%) from 3. They shot 33-of-47 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 33 baskets. Six Timberwolves players scored double-digit points.

Edwards led the way with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Randle had 19 points and eight rebounds. He was busy with a 12-of-16 night on free throws. DiVincenzo scored 15 points. Reid had 15 points and six rebounds. Jaden McDaniels and Hyland each scored 13 points.

If you want to pull off the upset, this is how you do it. The Thunder have seen their offense get downright ugly at times — specifically with Gilgeous-Alexander off the floor. Heck, they won an NBA championship where they struggled to score on the road. This was the latest example of how much they depend on the reigning MVP to get things going on that end.

And if there’s even a hint of Gilgeous-Alexander looking human, that downgrades the Thunder from an indestructible machine to a team that struggles in the halfcourt. That’s especially the case when Williams and Holmgren don’t have it going, either.

Nothing too crazy to panic over yet, but that’s definitely a trend I’ve noticed in OKC’s three losses this season. It’ll be interesting to monitor that the rest of the way as the entire league bands together to figure out how to dethrone the NBA champions later on down the road.

“We put ourselves in a nice position late. We had a lead going into the closing possessions. They just made a couple more plays than we did,” Daigneault said. “It was a close game. It could’ve gone either way. We played a lot of these games this season. We’ve won a lot of them. We want to learn through the wins and we have to learn through the losses.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-minus

Going straight at a collapsing defense, Gilgeous-Alexander couldn’t put the Thunder ahead in the final seconds. Edwards made sure his drive to the basket wouldn’t result in a score. He jumped off the floor on the weak side to swat away the potential go-ahead layup.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points on 12-of-26 shooting, seven assists and five rebounds. He shot 3-of-7 from 3 and went 8-of-8 on free throws. He also had three steals and two blocks.

Even though the talent disparity is enormous, Gilgeous-Alexander’s rivalry with Edwards is one of the better ones in the NBA. Both players don’t hide away in the head-to-head matchups. Each shoe company has taken its shots at the other when given the chance. For the first time in a while, the former came up short in this latest round.

Against Minnesota, Gilgeous-Alexander dissected their defense. He knifed through multiple defenders like he usually does. He scored 11 points in the first quarter alone. It felt like he could be due for a big night. Instead, a scoreless second frame had him struggling with his jumper.

That allowed the Timberwolves to get back into it. It was obvious their defensive game plan started and stopped with Gilgeous-Alexander. Even with that, he got back into a flow in the second half. The jumper might’ve abandoned him, but his drives to the basket are always reliable.

In another clutch scenario, Gilgeous-Alexander conducted his business as usual to start. Welcoming the high-leverage pressure, he rattled in a handful of jumpers. The Timberwolves couldn’t do anything to slow him down. Alas, nobody else from OKC joined him in his frenzy.

Eventually, the Timberwolves made the Thunder pay for their mistakes. Edwards came away as the hero of this game. He hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds. Gilgeous-Alexander had a couple of chances to answer but couldn’t. There’s a first for everything, I guess.

While this wasn’t the superb-efficient version of Gilgeous-Alexander we usually see, he did enough to come away with the win. Once again, he was the best player on the floor. Even with Edwards’ late-game heroics. But OKC learned that you usually can’t win a game with one reliable scorer.

“I got blocked and stripped late in the game. I think the whole second half, we could’ve done a better job rebounding. Giving a team like that extra possessions doesn’t help at all. We were doing a good job on the first-shot offense. Especially when the game is being called that way,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Doing a good job the first time is hard to do. You get a stop, rebound and go the other way. When you don’t, you give them a whole other opportunity to score.”

Back in Minnesota, where the ‘free-throw merchant’ chants originated from, Gilgeous-Alexander was the top villain. Every time he had the ball in his hands, the crowd rained on him with booes. You can hear the chants and disproval through the broadcast. Finch’s antics only dropped gas on the fire. For the reigning MVP, he doesn’t care about the noise.

“I don’t care. Not one bit. I can’t control how the refs blow the whistle. Ever. I’ve never been able to. Never been a ref. All I can do is play basketball,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s all I focus on. Trying to win games and championships.”

Jalen Williams: C-minus

A chance to hit the go-ahead bucket, Williams received a second-chance look in the final seconds. He couldn’t make the most of the opportunity as his outside attempt clanked off the rim. A fitting way to end OKC’s last real shot to make a difference in the scoreboard.

Williams finished with 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had two steals and a block.

Driving to the basket against Randle and knocking down the deep catch-and-shoot look in the first two minutes, it felt like we were on the cusp of a vintage performance by Williams. Instead, his eight points in the first quarter degraded from a preview to most of his production.

Attacking the basket all night, Williams’ feel was off. He’d carved out a lane to the rim but couldn’t finish. Several decent drives went to waste as the ball failed to drop through the hoop. That was magnified in the second unit minutes. The Thunder couldn’t survive those, as nobody stepped up as a go-to scorer.

In a back-and-forth affair, Williams went ice cold in the fourth quarter. The Thunder had several moments to make a big-time shot. Instead, a pile of misses allowed the Timberwolves to hang around. Minnesota’s role players helped out more than OKC’s two co-stars alongside Gilgeous-Alexander.

You’ve probably already read several think pieces on OKC’s offense in their losses. Everybody has a different solution — whether macro or micro. But I think it simply comes down to Williams returning to his All-NBA form. The Thunder need him to be an efficient 20-plus point scorer. They’re banking on his wrist feeling better by the time the playoffs roll around. Until then, though, they’re more vulnerable to these types of eggs.

Chet Holmgren: C

Cutting to the basket a couple of times, Holmgren leveraged the attention Gilgeous-Alexander commands. He received a nice layup and alley-oop from the reigning MVP as Minnesota had all of its attention on one player. Alas, those couple of plays highlight the meat left on the bone.

Holmgren finished with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting and five rebounds. He shot 0-of-2 from 3 and went 6-of-6 on free throws. He also had two blocks.

Like Williams, the early vibes felt like we were going to see a huge game from Holmgren. He had six points in the first quarter. Turns out, that was the most active he looked on the floor. As the game entered its final stages, he faded into the background and was the latest OKC player to not step up in crunch time.

While his scoring aggressiveness has improved, Holmgren has had the occasional dull moment. This was one of those. They needed him to help out Gilgeous-Alexander in the final moments. Instead, he was another guy who just hung around at the perimeter.

Not the best game on the boards, either. Holmgren is not a rebound machine, but he let Randle get way too many offensive rebounds. That allowed the Timberwolves to beat the Thunder in their own game by winning the possession battle. Failing to box out allowed DiVincenzo to grab the critical offensive rebound that segued to Edwards’ go-ahead outside jumper in the final seconds.

You need more from Holmgren — along with the rest of the OKC starters. You can probably survive one of himself or Williams having an off night. That’s how deep the Thunder are. But when both drop simultaneous duds, your room for error is razor-thin.

Lu Dort: F

Completely wide open at the left corner spot, Dort couldn’t give the Thunder more cushion in the final moments. The Minnesota bench had him rattled from behind in his own mind. While valiant, Reid’s late close-out really didn’t matter. Just another example of the Thunder failing to cash in on Gilgeous-Alexander’s gravity.

Dort finished with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-10 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one block.

Oh, boy. Things are starting to get a little uncomfortable. To the point you’re pulling on your collar to get some breathing room. Let’s address the elephant in the room — Dort has not been the same player as he was in recent years.

On one end, the outside shooting has regressed. Dort went from a respectable 41% outside shooter last season to an ice-cold 29% outside shooter this season. And with a decent sample size logged in, opposing teams have begun to update their scouting reports. Each passing game, you’re seeing teams daring him to shoot. The strategy helped Minnesota pull off the upset.

Maybe that eventually fixes itself. Dort has been in the NBA long enough to warrant some more benefit of the doubt. But the stats can’t be swept under the rug anymore. Not with one-third of the regular season played out. And I think OKC knows that. Hence why his minutes have quietly declined.

The other end is a little more concerning, though. Dort’s money-maker has been his ability to stop NBA superstars — specifically perimeter-oriented ones. That definition fits Edwards. Instead, he had one of his best games ever against OKC.

While still one of their best defenders, it feels like Wallace and Caruso have surpassed Dort. A little surprising, considering how things were last season. The NBA is a fast-moving business. If that continues, it’ll be interesting to see how the Thunder handle this predicament the rest of the way.

When you combine the bad outside shooting with replaceable one-on-one defenders littered across the roster, it makes you wonder if or when the Thunder are ready to make a major move to shake up their rotations. Especially if most of their losses look like this.

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