Ryan Saunders beats Thunder in his first game as Minnesota interim head coach

In a checkered suit and blue tie, Minnesota interim head coach Ryan Saunders called over Josh Okogie.

His voice was deeper, stronger, than it had been just a couple hours earlier in his first pregame media availability since he was chosen to replace Tom

Thibodeau. Saunders put an arm around Okogie, and the Timberwolves guard nodded along with him. By the end of that half, Saunders would claim a 119-117 win over the Thunder in his first game as a head coach Tuesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Saunders, 32, is not only the youngest active head coach in the NBA but also the youngest in at least 40 years.

“I don’t even remember when I was 32,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan joked before the game. “Ryan will do a great job. He obviously comes from a great pedigree with his dad (the late Flip Saunders), and he’s been around it for a long time, and being around Thibs and in the game, so I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”

Ryan Saunders, who had been an assistant coach for the Timberwolves since 2014, said he met with each of his players on Monday.

“I’d be lying if I said there weren’t (butterflies in my stomach),” he said before the game. “They’re a thing that’s only natural, but I feel very comfortable with this group of coaches and group if players, too.”

Collison returns

Mr. Thunder himself returned to Chesapeake Energy Arena for Tuesday’s game. Retired former Thunder player Nick Collison has joined the team in a post-basketball transition position that general manager Sam Presti created for him. Collison will work on a part-time basis with Presti and the team, while also becoming involved in community outreach.

“I really feel fortunate,” said Donovan, who left Florida for OKC in 2015, “especially coming from (coaching) college, to have a veteran like that who’s just a great person, really helpful to me, great in the locker room, great team guy. So the more he’s around I think the better it is for all of us, just because of what he represents and what he’s about.”

Alex Abrines not ‘not with the team’

Thunder guard Alex Abrines (personal) wasn’t on the bench Tuesday night, but he was at the Thunder practice facility that morning.

“He’s never been not with the team,” Donovan said of Abrines, noting that he didn’t go on the last road trip but has been around the team while they’ve been in town.

Abrines has missed eight games, first designated as out with an illness and then for a personal matter. Per team policy, the Thunder does not comment on personal matters. Donovan did not provide a timetable for Abrines’s return.