Timberwolves Hold Westbrook to 15 but Lose to Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Paul George had 35 points and nine assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-107 on Friday night and snap a three-game losing streak.

Steven Adams had a career-high 27 points on 11-for-11 shooting from the field and Russell Westbrook added 15 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City.

The Thunder shot 51.9 percent from the field and outrebounded the Timberwolves 42-26. It was Oklahoma City's first win of the season by fewer than nine points.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points each and Jimmy Butler added 22 for the Timberwolves, who shot 51.3 percent in the loss.

Minnesota won the previous two meetings this season by a combined five points.

Oklahoma City posted its highest-scoring quarter of the season to lead 42-33 at the end of the first.

The Thunder struggled to create distance in the fourth quarter until a 3-pointer by George put Oklahoma City ahead 97-86. A bounce pass by Westbrook led to a dunk by Jerami Grant that gave the Thunder a 101-90 lead.

Wiggins made a 3-pointer to cut Oklahoma City's lead to 101-96, and Towns scored in close to make it a three-point game with just over 4 minutes to play.

Adams put back a missed 3-pointer by Westbrook with 26.2 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up 107-102. Wiggins made a quick 3, but George made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to clinch the win.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: Towns knocked heads with Thunder guard Andre Roberson in the first quarter and left the court area for treatment. He got stitches for a cut above his right eye and returned to the game in the second quarter. ... G Jeff Teague played after missing four games with a sore right Achilles. He finished with 11 points and 10 assists.