Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Leads Top Performers in Opening Night Loss to Timberwolves

The Thunder's backcourt looked fresh on opening night.

Oklahoma City opened up the 2022-23 NBA season with a hard-fought 115-108 loss in Minnesota. The Timberwolves star power, and strength inside, simply overpowered the Thunder late.

It was a fun night with plenty of positive takeaways for the Thunder, though. The massive third quarter run sparked a wild comeback, and even saw Oklahoma City take a late-quarter lead. This team showed characteristics of last year’s team, but with added depth and talent across the board.

The Thunder’s slow start is ultimately what plagued the team against the Timberwolves. The first quarter got out of hand and Oklahoma City started to panic in the first half. After the team settled in though, and started hitting a few outside shots, the Thunder looked much more comfortable as a team. It wasn’t a win, but it’s a solid first step on the road against a team that should be squarely in the Western conference playoff hunt.

As a team, the Thunder had five players in double-figure scoring, with Kenrich Williams being the only member of the starting five to not join the club. It was one of those nights for Oklahoma City’s stars, and with the way Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was feeling down the stretch, he probably should’ve taken a shot or two more in crunch time.

Nonetheless, here are the best performances from the loss in Minnesota:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

SGA was a magician on opening night. The craziest part is that the aspiring All Star missed the entirety of the preseason, and most of training camp, with an MCL sprain. Down the stretch, he was huffing and puffing and certainly looked tired. If you were wondering, it’s been a minute since he’s played basketball.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game with 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting, adding six rebounds and five assists. Oklahoma City’s star guard was going punch for punch with the Timberwolves in the third quarter. It was an incredible first game back.

Josh Giddey

Giddey looked smooth running Oklahoma City’s half court offense, and the backcourt seemed to work Tuesday night. Giddey’s added outside shooting ability, especially off the catch, has made life easier on both guards.

The Australian started off his year-two campaign with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, drilling two 3-pointers in the process. Giddey is only going to get better, and he already looks more comfortable this season. His progression will be fun to monitor.

Eugene Omoruyi

Omoruyi was a big surprise for Oklahoma City last night. Most people didn’t factor him into the rotation, much less closing the game in crunch time.

The two-way wing helped spark Oklahoma City’s biggest run of the night and played solid, efficient basketball. Omoruyi drew a few charges and knocked down a few free throws while providing timely defense on Karl Anthony-Towns. With a lack of front court presence, he could fill in more as the Thunder need him to.

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