Minnesota @ Oklahoma City preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 7, 2019 ) Oklahoma City 132, Minnesota 126

The Oklahoma City Thunder won three of four before falling at home to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday and were not pleased with their late-game execution. The Thunder will try to clean some things up and get back in the win column when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

"We were not able to add two or three stops in a row and they were executing and shooting good shots, tough shots," Oklahoma City forward Danilo Gallinari told reporters after Wednesday's 107-100 setback. "Some of them were tough shots on offense and we were not able to do the same thing on our end." The Thunder are wrapping up a two-game homestand with Minnesota before heading west for a four-game trip and fell to 6-5 in front of their own fans with Wednesday's loss. The Timberwolves are making the second stop of a four-game trip and could not quite keep pace in a 121-114 loss at Dallas on Wednesday. "You're frustrated, of course," Minnesota forward Robert Covington told reporters. "You have the game and they came in and made some big plays. Overall, we did everything we're supposed to do to win, but it was just a couple key breakdowns that hurt us."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), FS Oklahoma

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (10-10): Towns finished with 26 points and nine rebounds on Wednesday to snap a string of nine straight double-doubles and was unhappy with the way the team defended down the stretch. "We gave them a look and we gave them too much space, especially in the fourth," Towns told reporters. "The fourth is different than any other quarter, myself included, we gave them too much space. Solid is not enough when it's just getting them to take a tough shot, we have to make them not even shoot it." Minnesota allowed Dallas to shoot 50 percent from the field in a second consecutive loss after falling at home to Memphis on Sunday.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (8-12): Towns will test himself defensively Friday against Oklahoma City center Steven Adams, who scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting Wednesday and is 21-of-26 from the floor over the last three contests. "He's really establishing really good post position," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "He's gotten some opportunities to roll and we've found him at the basket. He's offensive rebounding and he's made his free throws." Gallinari is hot of late as well and is 15-of-27 from the floor - 8-of-13 from beyond the arc - over the past two contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Thunder SG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is 4-of-23 from 3-point range over his last four games.

2. Timberwolves F Jake Layman (toe) sat out the last five games and is day-to-day.

3. Oklahoma City snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a 132-126 victory at Minnesota in the most recent meeting on April 7.

PREDICTION: Timberwolves 111, Thunder 108