The Minnesota Timberwolves endured a rough experience on Tuesday night, absorbing a 113-105 defeat on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The T-Wolves’ entry to 2025 didn’t go well as planned as their three-game win skid comes to an end. Despite leading by as much as 12 in the third frame, they got overwhelmed down the stretch by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s strong 40-point output.
Anthony Edwards produced 20 points and 7 boards to lead Minnesota on the losing effort, but his co-star Julius Randle flashed a passive performance with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
Randle’s play throughout 27 minutes against Oklahoma City was simply disappointing, prompting Kendrick Perkins to call him out for a specific horrible play.
With around seven minutes left in the third quarter, Randle burned the shot clock and went off for an isolation play in the Timberwolves’ offensive possession. But his efforts were squashed by the rough defense of Jalen Williams who stole the ball from him en route to a Gilgeous-Alexander’s two-handed flush.
That moment simply didn’t sit well for most of the T-Wolves fans as it summarized Randle’s horrible night against the Thunder. As such, Perkins went on X (formerly Twitter) to criticize the Minnesota star — sparking tons of reactions from NBA netizens.
Ever since being traded to the Timberwolves, Randle has seen tons of mixed reception across its fanbase. Many constantly criticize his general fit and play style for the team, while some are still wondering about the ‘What-Ifs’ if Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t get traded.
Nevertheless, amid openness that he is still adjusting, Randle has no choice but to elevate his game and contribute towards winning in order to deflect all the negativity surrounding his name. As Minnesota is still looking to climb the standings with a 17-15 record, the 30-year-old can only view this as a challenge to embrace.
As the 2024-25 season is yet to approach the middle portion, Randle still have plenty of hoops left to pursue collective winning and strengthen his impression in the eyes of every T-Wolves fans.
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