D’Angelo Russell had ice in his veins against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s been a rough year for D’Angelo Russell and the Minnesota Timberwolves, but in the NBA, where any given team can beat its opponent on any given night, there’s always room for some magic.
On Friday, the Timberwolves got some of that very magic in the form of Russell’s game-winning 3-pointer.
With the score all tied against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road, Russell had the ball in his hands for the game’s final possession, and he certainly made the most of it, drilling the go-ahead pull-up 3 with 2.9 seconds remaining:
D’Angelo Russell and the Timberwolves needed this one
Hamidou Diallo’s last-second 3-point attempt for the Thunder was no good, and in the process, Minnesota was able to improve to 6-16 on the season. For a team that had lost nine of its last 11 games heading into the night, Russell’s game-winner brought some much-needed levity to an otherwise gloomy season.
Even with Friday night’s victory, the Wolves sit at the very bottom of the Western Conference. They sport the third-worst record in the NBA and its worst point differential (minus-8.4), and they haven’t had Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor since Jan. 13 after the All-Star big man tested positive for COVID-19.
This hasn’t exactly been the triumphant Ricky Rubio homecoming people were hoping for, nor has this star-studded union between KAT and Russell produced results just yet. Hopefully the Wolves will get Towns back healthy again soon, because unless Russell can continue to prove he’s got ice in his veins on a night-to-night basis, this young core isn’t quite getting the job done in Minnesota.