The Minnesota Timberwolves have lost their last six games, but head coach Sam Mitchell is remaining optimistic, even after Sunday’s loss to Dallas in which the Wolves had the early lead, but couldn’t hold on.

“All the teams that are winning right now, they lost at some point,” Mitchell told the team’s website after practice on Monday. “We’re playing hard every single night and I think our guys are getting better. This record is going to flip one day. We’re 12-26 and one day in the near future, we’re going to be 26-12.”

Shabazz Muhammad echoed that sentiment, telling the team’s website, “Coach made a good point in film session today. San Antonio before they got Tim Duncan they weren’t really good, and OKC didn’t find their niche in Seattle. That’s just something that we have to keep maturing and something that we have to stay patient with, but I know we’re going t be a good team and that’s something that we have to keep in our minds.”

The turnaround begins on Tuesday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 26-23 on the season, come to Minnesota. The Thunder are sitting in third place in the Western Conference, while Minnesota is 13th in the Western Conference.

Last Matchup

This is the first matchup between these teams this season, but last season, the Thunder won all four games over Minnesota, including the final one on Aril 15th. In that game, Russell Westbrook scored 37 points with eight rebounds and seven assists. Dion Waiters had a surprise night, as he added 33 points en route to a 138-113 Thunder win. Minnesota was led in the game by Kevin Martin, who scored 29 points. Andrew Wiggins added 23 points while Zach LaVine contributed 19 points in a losing effort.

Scouting The Opponent

The Thunder are coming off of a 115-110 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in which Kevin Durant led the team with 28 points, with Westbrook finishing with 25 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds. Steven Adams joined Westbrook in posting a double-double, as he put up 17 points and 10 rebounds. It was not enough, however, as the Trail Blazers came away with the victory in a close game.

Matchup To Watch

The big matchup will be the battle of the point guards, as Ricky Rubio will need to find a way to shut down Westbrook, who is averaging 25.5 points, 9.5 assists, and seven rebounds per game. In addition, the whole defense will need to find a way to contain Durant, who is averaging 26.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. If Minnesota can stop them, and can get their offense to show up, they may be able to pull off the upset over a team that has their eyes set on the playoffs.

Injury Report

Thunder - No injuries

Timberwolves – No injuries

Game Info

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minnesota fans can watch the game on FS North, and can get the radio broadcast on 830 AM WCCO. Thunder fans can watch the game on FS Oklahoma, and can listen to the game on 640 AM/98.1 FM WWLS.