HEAD INJURY
Thunder center Mike Muscala suffers concussion Saturday night against Timberwolves
Thunder center Mike Muscala sustained a concussion Saturday night against the Timber wolves, the Thunder announced Sunday.
Early in the fourth quarter, Muscala was defending Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels. As McDaniels drove to the basket he tried to eur os te pa round Mus cal a, but during the move McDaniels' right elbow struck the left side of Muscala's face. Muscala slowly went down and McDaniels was assessed an offensive foul.
Mus cal a was taken to the locker room and never returned. He scored 22 points in the Thunder's win before exiting.
Muscala has been pl aced in the NB A' s concussion protocol. He cannot resume basketball activities until he exhibits symptom-free behavior.
This is the second concussion Muscala has sustained in the last six months.
The eight-year veteran is averaging a career-high 9.7 points per game on 39% 3-point shooting.
Al Horford might be t he Thunder' s only healthy center Monday night against the Lake rs. Center Isaiah Roby( right foot soreness) did not play Saturday.
Franchise record
The Thunder, which ranked 28 thin offense before Saturday night, scored more points in a half than any team in franchise history.
Oklahoma City led Minnesota 83-62 after 24 minutes Saturday, and the Thunder withstood a second-half comeback to notch a 120-118 win.
The Thunder' s previous high for points in a half was 79. Eighty-three points tied the highestscoring half in the NBA this season.
OKC shot 60% overall and 53% from 3- point range in the first half. The Thunder recorded 22 assist son 29 made baskets.
Third-quarter turnaround
The Timber wolves opened the third quarter on a 19-3 run.
An all-time sc oring performance for the Thunder wasn' t exactly backed up by stingy defense, and t he Thunder' s offense fell flat.
“I think our offense in the first half was so good that it was masking our defense,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said .“And it showed in the second half. They were scoring whenever they wanted to.”
Minnesota outscored OKC 32-13 in the third quarter after the Thunder scored 43 points in the first quarter and 40 points in the second quarter.
The Timber wolves took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter after trailing by 23.
The Thunder' s 22 assist sin the first half were backed up by just three in the second half.
SGA takes over
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, and nine points in the final four minutes.
He dished to Darius Bazley for the go- ahead basket with 1:16 left.
“It comes natural for him ,” team mate Hamidou Dial los aid. “Down the stretch we needed some tough bucket sand every time he was called upon he was right there with the ball making a play or making a bucket. That's who he is and that's what he brings to the table as a basketball player and a teammate.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He shot 12-of-22.
“He was out standin gt he whole game ,” Thunder coach Mark Daign ea ult said .“I thought he was as good from the jump in terms of getting us into the rhythm and flow that you were able to see in the first half. A lot of that was just him helping the offense function, and I think what great players have is they can do both, right? They can help the offense function and t hey can also make plays on their own when necessary.
“I thought for a guy that's trying to learn how to be a great player consistently he had a great balance of that tonight.”
Gilgeous-Alexander grabbed the final rebound of the night and spun the ball forward as time expired.
“I was tired ,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Super tired. It didn' t really hit me until the end …I was just happy we were able to do enough to get aW .”