The Minnesota Timberwolves got some great news pregame as they found out that Rudy Gobert would be available. Rudy has been nursing an back injury and his return will help big time in the front court defensively.
This was one of those games that Minnesota can overlook but they were locked in and focused as they look an early lead and never looked back. The Timberwolves had 7 scorers in double figures and have been playing with a well balanced attack as of late. Randle and DiVincenzo back in the lineup has helped this team out tremendously as Anthony Edwards can be able to play within the game and do so much more defensively.
The Spurs were trailing the whole game but the one bright spot they had was Stephon Castle this young man has a bright future no wonder the Spurs didn’t want to add him in the Fox trade. Tonight Castle was able to score inside and out but was always putting pressure on the Timberwolves defense.
Anthony Edwards finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists as the Timberwolves continue to stack wins up at the right time.
The 76ers are coming into Minnesota fresh from shutting down Joel Embiid for the remainder of the season. On the flip side, the Minnesota Timberwolves are just now getting their players back healthy, as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo are back in the lineup now.
The 76ers came out on a mission as Quentin Grimes was playing out of this world against the Timberwolves. It seemed as though anything that Grimes put up was going in, and he was able to keep the 76ers in the game. Grimes was attacking the basket and knocked down shots on missed assignments by the Timberwolves.
The Mavericks just gave up this pure scorer in that trade, and Minnesota had no way of stopping him in the 1st half. Grimes had 20 points in the 1st half against the Timberwolves but finished the game with 30 points as the Timberwolves made the proper adjustments. It was only a matter of time before Jaden McDaniels and the rest of the 3&D guys got to him to put an end to it.
Anthony Edwards started the game attacking every chance he got, and as a result, he left the game for a bit to get his thumb looked at. Edwards was able to come back, but you can tell that the thumb was still an issue, but he was able to tough it out. One thing about Anthony Edwards is the fact that if it’s not broken, he’s going to play, and that’s what he did. On the night, Ant-Man finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and one assist.
The leading scorer for the Timberwolves tonight was Naz Reid, as he was able to finish with 23 points tonight. When Naz has his game going on both ends, it’s tough to stop this Minnesota team. Jaden McDaniels was able to showcase his elite defense against the 76ers tonight with two steals & 4 blocks. When the Timberwolves play like they did tonight, it’s going to be a tough out in the playoffs. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was able to add in 20 points himself, as he’s been able to flourish knowing that teams are doubling Anthony and Julius.
The Timberwolves will be playing against the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow night as they look to stay in the win column.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game (44-9) and looked to go into the All-Star break with 45 wins. If they were going to achieve that, they would have to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are coming off one of their worst losses all season against the Bucks. The Timberwolves have been banged up lately with no Randle, Divincenzo, and tonight no Conley/Gobert. Anthony Edwards was a game-time decision, but one thing about Ant-Man: he loves to put on a show for the fans with big matchups. It was going to be a showdown of guards in the NBA who are at the top of their game, with Anthony Edwards facing off against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Timberwolves had Anthony Edwards active and ready to go as he came out firing on all cylinders in that 1st quarter. Edwards had the three-pointer going, and he could attack the rim even against a tough defender like Lu Dort from the Thunder. It was clear that the Thunder didn’t want Anthony Edwards to be the reason they lost, as they tried double-teaming him early in the game. One of the double teams was mistimed, and it resulted in what could be the dunk of the year. Anthony Edwards turned the corner and met up with Chet Holmgren at the rim, and Ant-Man won, letting Chet know about it after the poster dunk. It’s plays like that dunk that get this Timberwolves team going, and the offense was flowing after the impact of the dunk with momentum. The Timberwolves were able to go on a 22-9 run after the dunk and things started to shift in Minnesota’s way. The main player from Minnesota who was able to get his offense going in this one was Naz Reid. It seemed as though the Thunder had no answer for Naz as he shot 11/18 from the field tonight. Naz was able to take advantage of the moments when OKC doubled Edwards and used his size to score inside and out on mismatches. Naz Reid was able to show up big time in the rebounding department as he was able to step up big time with Rudy Gobert not in action tonight. Naz was able to grab a season-high 14 rebounds tonight against the Thunder, and he was able to start some fast breaks with his rebounds that caught the Thunder off guard. Naz Reid was spectacular in his performance as he was about to lead Minnesota in scoring with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists. The Big 3 of Anthony, Naz, and Jaden have been able to give this team a spark this last month, and all three of them were able to score 20+ points tonight.
Anthony Edwards will always be able to get his shot, but we have seen Jaden McDaniels get the chance to open up his game and showcase his shot-making ability as well. Jaden was able to shoot 50% from the field on 9/18 and was able to defend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight to the best of his abilities. It’s impressive that Jaden’s able to score consistently and defend consistently, something that is extremely rare in the NBA. Anthony Edwards had a quiet 23 points, but that was because his team showed up in a big way against the Thunder tonight. Terrence Shannon Jr had his number called tonight, and he didn’t disappoint on both ends. Shannon Jr gave this team a spark when they needed it against OKC, and he was able to make big-time hustle plays. Shannon Jr finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds but made an impact all over the floor as he’s making the best of every chance his number is called. The Timberwolves had a game plan tonight, and they executed it because they made things tough on the front runner for MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all night with different defenders.
The two Thunder players that put the team on their backs were the All-Stars SGA and Jalen Williams, as they both combined for 44 of the 101 points. The Thunder had moments where they could have gotten close, but every single time, the Timberwolves responded. Both these teams will play each other a couple of times coming out of the All-Star break, so it should be interesting to see how this matchup looks for the remainder of the season.
The Timberwolves and Grizzlies have always put on a show in the past years when they’ve played against each other. Coming into tonight you have two of the NBA’s brightest stars in Anthony Edwards and Ja Morant going head to head. The crazy thing about this game was the fact that both struggled to get anything going offensively but they had teammates that carried the load for them.
The Memphis Grizzlies has Jaren Jackson Jr who was playing like an All Star tonight. It seemed like every time the Grizzlies got caught in an awkward position with time running out in the shot clock that JJJ came through. Tonight Jackson Jr was a nightmare mismatch for the Timberwolves as Jackson was able to put his hands all over the outcome of the game inside and out. When Jackson had Gobert/Reid on him he was attacking the paint and trying to get them in foul trouble. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 33 points but was able to keep the Grizzlies in the game with Ja struggling to find his rhythm on the offensive end. Jaren Jackson is more than just a defensive player and he showed that tonight with his team depending on him that he can show up in big moments. The Memphis Grizzlies made every hustle play tonight against the Timberwolves and expose them on the offensive glass. Both teams were grinding it out, but overall Memphis came out to play on a mission as their ball movement with cutting into the basket was extremely impressive tonight.
For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the spotlight for them tonight was on Donte DiVincenzo. He had his biggest game as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Donte finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists filling up the stat sheet. Donte was putting on a show in front of the hometown faithful and was able to take the load scoring tonight. Since being inserted into the lineup Donte has looked a lot more comfortable and has found his role that was needed for this team to push forward. Donte’s play as of late has been what the Wolves fans have wanted and he made the Grizzlies pay with some big time 3 pointers going 6/11 from long range. Jaden McDaniels had one of his best games this season as well finishing with 21 points and 6 rebounds while holding Ja Morant to only 12 points on 5/19 shooting. When Jaden plays like this on both ends of the court he’s special and if the Wolves can get this consistently going into the 2nd half the league will be in trouble.
The game was decided in the final minutes of the 4th quarter and when Zach Edey was put back into the game with 3 minutes left things were tough for the Timberwolves. Edey was posing a threat in the paint defensively all night and his extra possessions helped Memphis time after time with big shots. The Grizzlies had 21 offensive rebounds tonight and those 2nd chance points killed momentum. In the end it was Ja Morant who had the last laugh after struggling as he was able to hit a floater over Anthony Edwards to get the win.
These two teams play really good games when they face up against each other. Any NBA fan would love seven games of this series and this won’t be the last of Ja Morant versus Anthony Edwards.
It was a huge and emotional game for Karl Anthony Towns and the city of Minnesota. Tonight was the night that Karl circled as he knew he would have to return to Minnesota to play his former teammates after he was traded days before training camp. Karl-Anthony Towns played his whole career in Minnesota and was a huge fan favorite, as it was going to be different seeing him in the orange and blue in person. You know it’s a serious game when you have Spike Lee in attendance in Minnesota to cheer on his Knicks and show some love and support to the Towns family. During the starting lineups, the Minnesota Timberwolves gave KAT an amazing tribute video, and they let the crowd show their love and appreciation for the time that Towns spent in Minnesota on the team/in the community.
Tonight, the New York Knicks showed how good they are and how they’ve been able to gel on both ends of the floor. Karl-Anthony Towns playing at the center spot has changed the outlook on his career in many people’s eyes, but he was able to put on a show in Target Center tonight. Karl-Anthony Towns had to settle into the game as you can tell, he had some jitters, starting the game off with about 3 to 4 turnovers. While KAT was struggling with the turnovers, it was Julius Randle who was able to get his game going, as the Timberwolves made it a point/effort to get Randle involved early. Randle took about eight shots in that 1st quarter and led the way in scoring with 15 points. As soon as Randle went to the bench, the Knicks came out firing on all cylinders as they had a 25-4 run at one point, and it seemed as though Karl-Anthony Towns was feeling right back at home because he was making all the right plays.
The Timberwolves had to make some critical adjustments once Naz Reid got in foul trouble, but the KAT was loose already. It was Karl-Anthony Towns night, and he gave his fans exactly what they wanted to see as he was hitting the three-pointer and he was attacking the paint. With KAT playing the center position, he’s been able to be a monster on the boards, and tonight was no different as he finished the game with 32 points, 20 rebounds, and six assists with two steals. It was a Knicks masterclass that was led by KAT, and the team followed his lead as they had five scorers in double figures. Anthony Edwards was making the right plays tonight when the Knicks doubled and triple-teamed him, so he will need some help on the offensive end if they want to succeed as a team. Edwards finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and seven assists as the Wolves look to bounce back against the Warriors, who lost by 50 tonight to the Memphis Grizzlies.
