Wolves stun Thunder in OT after incredible fourth-quarter comeback

It didn't look like the Minnesota Timberwolves had all that much juice for the first 40 minutes of Monday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The turn of events couldn't have been more drastic.

The Wolves entered the fourth quarter trailing by 22 points and all looked lost in the waning minutes. But suddenly, even with an unlikely group on the court, Minnesota rallied all the way back to force overtime and carried that momentum into overtime as the Wolves stunned the West-leading Thunder 131-128 to complete the largest comeback in team history.

It wasn't an Anthony Edwards heater that led the comeback charge — it was Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr., Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the court as the Wolves (32-27) tied it up. Trailing 121-118 with 11.2 seconds remaining, McDaniels made a layup, drew a foul and hit the ensuing free throw to knot the game at 121-all.

Jaylen Clark, who started for the second straight night despite being listed as questionable due to neck soreness after taking a scary fall in Sunday's game, subbed in and forced Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into a tough shot that didn't fall. Alexander-Walker had a difficult look at a potential game-winner that bounced off the rim as time expired. Overtime.

With under a minute remaining in overtime, Lu Dort turned it over to McDaniels and the ball found Edwards' hands, but he airballed a stepback 3-pointer. Reid grabbed the offensive rebound, was fouled and made a pair of free throws for a 129-128 Wolves lead with 22.8 seconds remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander went to the rim the next Thunder (46-11) possession, but Edwards delivered a massive chase-down block that fell into Shannon's hands, and the Wolves called a timeout.

Alexander-Walker received the inbounds pass from Joe Ingles and was fouled with 6.6 seconds left on the clock. He made both free throws to give Minnesota a 131-128 lead, leaving the Thunder with just one last chance to knot it back up.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed a game-tying 3 the next possession.

The Thunder were in complete control after a second-quarter run, outscoring the Wolves 32-17 during the quarter. Minnesota was only down four points after the first, but the Thunder opened the second frame on a 10-3 run and they closed it on a 12-2 run to take a 64-45 lead into the halftime break. OKC shot 51% in the first half and led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander was the driver, scoring 20 of his game-high 39 points in the first half.

The starters mostly struggled for the Wolves. While Edwards was inches away from his first career triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, he shot just 5 for 15 from the field. Reid shot only 7 for 21 and briefly exited the game after appearing to sprain his ankle after tripping over Isaiah Joe at the end of the third quarter. But Reid returned to the game for the stretch run, ultimately finishing his night with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. (Edwards also appeared to tweak his ankle towards the end of the fourth quarter but checked back in during overtime).

McDaniels was the exception for the struggling starters, shooting 9 for 17 on his way to a team-high 27 points.

But it was the bench group — particularly the trio of Dillingham, Shannon and Alexander-Walker — who drove the comeback effort and provided much-needed offensive firepower. Alexander-Walker scored 21 points off the bench and finished with a team-best plus-minus of plus-23. Shannon scored a career-high 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Dillingham, who's struggled of late, posted 12 points and five assists and finished as a plus-19.

The Wolves needed every last bit from each of them. And their efforts led to the greatest comeback in Wolves history.