Unglued by turnovers, Timberwolves fall to Thunder 116-103

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Mar 15, 2026

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The Minnesota Timberwolves know in order to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, most things have to go right. There is little margin for error. Despite some good moments, the Wolves didn’t play close to perfect, and because of that, they came away with a 116-103 loss Sunday to wrap up a four-game road trip 1-3.

The number that stood out was the 25 turnovers, always a killer against the Thunder, who converted those into 29 points. The Oklahoma City defense eventually finished off the Wolves in the second half.

Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels had tough days, as the Wolves’ top two defenders were a minus-23 and minus-17, respectively. Gobert had only two points and four turnovers. Oklahoma City finished seven turnovers as a team.

That canceled out the best game from Julius Randle since the All-Star break. Randle has been in a weeks-long funk, but had his strongest performance in a while with 32 points.

Defending league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just passed Wilt Chamberlain for the NBA record with 127 consecutive games with 20 or more points, shot 7 for 22 but had scored exactly 20 with a late 3-point play to keep the streak going.

What it means

The Wolves keep hurting themselves when it comes to playoff positioning. They are now two back in the loss column of Nos. 3 and 4 seeds and only one ahead of Phoenix for the No. 6 seed. The Suns are their next opponent on Tuesday at home in a matchup that looms large for the Wolves. They have already lost the tiebreaker to Phoenix on the season and will need a win to stay ahead in their attempt to stay out of the play-in.

How it happened

The starting lineup came out flat, and the Wolves had allowed four offensive rebounds, committed four fouls and had fallen behind by nine in the first four minutes of the game. The day was lining up for an early Oklahoma City runaway. But the Wolves steadied themselves as they got into their bench, which outplayed the Thunder.

Ayo Dosunmu was 3 for 3 for points in the first quarter and the Wolves held the Thunder to 8 for 27. Gilgeous-Alexander was 2 for 9.

The Wolves got their offense more in gear in the second quarter. They overcame 12 first-half turnovers to take a 53-47 lead at the half. Randle finished with 17 points on 6 for 12 while Dosunmu was a perfect 6 for 6 for 15 points.

Anthony Edwards hit a pair of 3s toward the end of the second as the Wolves shot 12 for 17 for the quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander had just four points in the first half.

The Wolves maintained a small lead until a disastrous end to the third quarter, a 9-0 run that put the Thunder up 80-73. Edwards was just 1 for 8 in the third, and the Wolves committed another seven turnovers.

The Wolves offense was discombobulated in the second half, and the Thunder’s bench outgunned the Wolves (61-32 in bench points). Three OKC reserves scored more than 15 points (Isaiah Joe, Alex Caruso and Jared McCain).

Edwards plays through pain

For the second consecutive game, Edwards played despite coming into the day questionable because of right knee soreness. The injury appeared to hamper Edwards, who was moving with caution through the day.

Twice in the first quarter, Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace drove to the hoop with Edwards guarding him, and Edwards didn’t attempt to block the shot either time.

Edwards also played solid on-ball defense on Gilgeous-Alexander, as he was 3 for 16 through three quarters. But throughout the game, the Thunder made it hard for Edwards to find an offensive rhythm; he finished with six turnovers.

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