The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off a great win against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. They were looking to add another to the win column tonight against Orlando. The Timberwolves got Rudy Gobert back in the lineup to help the Magic paint attack.
This was one of those games where the Timberwolves honestly beat themselves as they had way too many turnovers. When you give a young team a chance like the Magic had tonight it will be tough to win any game. The Magic made it tough on the Timberwolves as they had active hands in the passing lanes and could get a lot of offensive rebounds. The Magic made the Timberwolves pay with 2nd chance points tonight and they allowed the bench to get hot in this game. Cole Anthony came in off the bench and gave this Magic team a spark that was genuinely needed as he finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Every time you looked up Anthony was either making a tough shot or he was able to create for his teammates. Cole Anthony had a couple of nice plays throughout the game but his alley-oop finish tonight was top-of-the-line. Cole Anthony did his thing and so did Wagner as he finished with 19 points off the bench. The bench was on fire tonight as the Magic got 72 points from the bench compared to the Timberwolves’ 49 bench points. This was the Magic’s most recent well-balanced attack as they were getting it done inside and outside.
Near the end of the 3rd quarter with less than 2 minutes to go the fight came out of nowhere. All eyes were on Rudy Gobert throwing the ball under Anthony Edwards’s legs for a turnover. All of a sudden you look up and there is a huge group of players, coaches, and referees in the mix of a scuffle. The arena was stunned just as much as the media row. Austin Rivers was getting heckled by the Magic bench and he let it be known he didn’t like that. Rivers walked over to the bench and then punches were thrown. Check out the video below to see the actual fight and the postgame interview with Austin Rivers.
The Timberwolves were struggling all night and after the fight, they were without Austin Rivers, Taurean Prince, and Jaden McDaniels. This put a lot of responsibility for a 22-point comeback in the hands of Russell/Edwards. It was D’Angelo Russell who was the one that came out scorching as the Timberwolves were able to get it down to 6 points in the 4th. Russell was hitting some big shots as he was able to keep the Timberwolves in the game. D’Angelo Russell was clicking on all cylinders tonight as he finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Russell was hitting some clutch shots to go back and forth with the Magic but Orlando just kept hitting clutch shots back. Anthony Edwards wasn’t playing like himself tonight as he went 5/15 from the field and finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Timberwolves will look to bounce back as they will face the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at home.
Photo Credit: (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
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