The Minnesota Timberwolves were coming into this game getting Mike Conley back into the lineup. That would be a huge boost as Minnesota has been playing without him due to injury/illness. In his absence Nickeil Alexander Walker stepped up his game big time. On the flip side the Mavericks were going to be playing against the Timberwolves without Luka Doncic, Derek Lively, and Kyrie Irving. Luka alone is a huge blow to this offense but the Mavs were going to depend on the young players to come out with a win.

The first half of this game was a battle as the Mavericks came out showing that it was going to be a tough matchup. Josh Green was able to put the Mavericks on his back as he was able to attack the paint tonight and hit some 3 pointers to help the Mavericks keep it close. Green was the leading scorer for the Mavericks finishing with 18 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. The Mavericks were able to make it tough on the Timberwolves early as Minnesota wasn’t hitting any 3 pointers and at one point they were shooting 16%. Tonight the Timberwolves were able to focus on the paint as both Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert led the way. In the 2nd half the game got out of hand for Dallas as they weren’t able to score like they did in the first half.

The Timberwolves were able to dominate in the paint tonight with their bigs getting whatever they wanted from Dallas. The Timberwolves had 52 points in the paint and that was led by Karl-Anthony Towns who had finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. When KAT is playing like this the Timberwolves can do whatever they want because he’s attacking the mismatch on the inside/outside. Towns has been special this season and his playmaking ability has been impressive as well because he can get Rudy Gobert looks in his spots too. Rudy finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Obviously Rudy wants to make the best of the situation in the rebounding department but he will take the win every time.

The Timberwolves were able to remain #1 in the Western Conference after this win against the Mavericks but this was a true test that you can’t sleep on your opponent. The Mavs didn’t have their all stars but the Timberwolves did take care of business when they needed tonight.

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The Portland Trail Blazers are coming into this game against the Minnesota Timberwolves following a back to back where they lost by 62. The Timberwolves played a tough game in Boston without Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert.

Tonight Rudy Gobert reminded everyone how dominant he can be in the paint. Rudy was able to set the tone in this game against Portland as he grabbed rebound after rebound and had about 5 slam dunks. The best dunk of the night from Rudy came from the lob from Anthony Edwards where he had to reach way back to get it. The crowd and his teammates went crazy for that. On the night Rudy Gobert finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns had himself a nasty dunk as well on Badji that was crazy. KAT has been aggressive to the paint on this stretch of games and it has put the Wolves in a great position. KAT has been special inside and out and tonight he was able to put that on full display against a Portland team that had no answer for the big men without Ayton.

Naz Reid was able to lead the bench in scoring with 14 points and he was an instant offense boost tonight. It was clear that the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have an answer for the bigs of Minnesota tonight. The great thing about this win was the fact that Anthony Edwards was able to just be in full playmaker mode as he only took 9 shots and finished with 9 points. When your best player only has 9 points and you were up by 36 points at one point thats very impressive.

The Portland Trail Blazers are a young team and they have some time to grow as a unit. They had a couple of bright spots tonight like Simons, Henderson, Camara, and Reath. The Timberwolves have been on a mission all year and Portland ran into Minnesota’s get right game. The leading scorer for the Portland Trail Blazers was Reath he was able to make some good plays in the paint but the Timberwolves slowed down Simons/Henderson on the night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be facing the LA Clippers next as the Clips are coming in winning 17 of the last 20 games. It should make for a serious Western Conference matchup in Minnesota on Sunday. Look for Paul George and Anthony Edwards to duel it out together.

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