Bench players shine in Timberwolves' 138-101 rout over Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY – There was a moment Friday night the Timberwolves bench was so unstoppable, Oklahoma City tried playing seven-on-five. During a fast break in the third quarter, two of the arena personnel charged with cleaning the floor were out near the free-throw line as Jordan McLaughlin was racing down the court for what otherwise would've been an easy layup.

The Wolves didn't score on that play, and there was no call from the officials, but it did nothing to derail the night the reserves had in a 138-101 victory over Oklahoma City.

There were moments this season coach Chris Finch said the staff was worried about the team's depth.

"We just didn't have enough guys playing well off our bench," Finch said.

Over the last few months, they have sometimes had too many.

"I don't know if I envisioned them playing this well," Finch said.

On Friday the bench helped the Wolves establish a lead in the second quarter and then put Oklahoma City away in the second half with a dominant performance. Naz Reid scored 20 on 8-for-8 shooting, Taurean Prince continued his strong second half of the season with 18 as the unit of Prince, Reid, Malik Beasley (15 points), McLaughlin and D'Angelo Russell, the lone starter of the bunch, did the most damage.

"We built trust over time, putting in work over the gym and applied it to the game," Prince said. "We built that trust up enough to get it up on a consistent basis. Now everybody knows when they're coming in and what their job is. There's no confusion. We're starting to settle in to the team we could be from the jump."

The Wolves bench outscored Oklahoma City 74-18. Minnesota, who won its third straight, entered the second quarter down 34-32. They were up 77-60 at halftime after the bench ignited a 45-point quarter. In the third, Oklahoma City cut the lead to nine. Enter the bench, who then pushed the lead back to 21 by the start of the fourth. McLaughlin, Beasley, Prince and Reid were all plus-21 or better for the game.

By contrast, Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 20, was a zero. That statistic is not to knock Towns but instead illustrates just how much the Wolves bench made an impact on the night.

BOXSCORE: Wolves 138, Oklahoma City 101

"We're all unselfish I would say and we all talk and communicate what we should do," Reid said. "If something was supposed to go one way, we'll tell that person and the other person doesn't take it the wrong way or anything."

One of the traits Finch appreciates about the bench is each night someone different may have it rolling. Reid and Prince were hard to stop.

In Reid's case, Oklahoma City couldn't stop him when he made his mind up to shoot.

"One thing that's impressive about Naz is that he knows his role – he plays behind an all-star center. That's going to put a cap on his ability to be out there for more than 12 to 15 minutes," Finch said. "But he's really kind of maximizing those opportunities, and he's at peace with it."

That maturity when you're young and you're trying to play yourself into the league, sometimes you don't always see it, and that kind of thing can eat you up."

Reid credited Prince with helping the group become close off the floor and that has carried over on it.

"He's the leader of that group, I would say," Reid said. "He talks, lets the guys know where they need to be, when they need to be there. Then off the court, he's like 'You guys can come to my room whenever, chop it up, talk about basketball.' "

There wasn't much to nitpick about how they played Friday.