The creaking sound of malaise was never too far from earshot, but in the end of this high scoring affair, the Thunder had once again defeated the Timberwolves. A lot of time these 'defense-optional' games can be fun, but sometimes it sure would be nice to see the Thunder actually shut down the Wolves. J.J. Barea once again in particular had his way with the Thunder defense, which if you think about it, should be a cause for concern. There is an effective way to stop Barea - trap him out high so he can't make crisp passes - but the technique was used infrequently as Barea once again had a double-double.

No matter though, because Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook once again carried the load, scoring a combined 78 points. There was no real effective way for the Wolves to stop them other than hope that they missed. Often, they did not. Chalk up win number 44.