The Minnesota Timberwolves came into this game against the Miami Heat on a current 3-game winning streak. It was a game without Jimmy Butler/Tyler Herro but the Heat did have Kyle/Bam tonight. The Timberwolves were without Kyle Anderson as well who’s been a key piece to this puzzle. In the game, Karl-Anthony Towns came into this one setting the tone scoring basically at will against the Heat. Miami was trying to play small ball and KAT made them pay for it as he was yelling at defenders “And-1” after every made basket. You can see how Karl-Anthony felt disrespected as the Heat were trying to put players on him that were shorter than 6″8 and even had Kyle Lowry on him at one point. The Timberwolves and Towns made them pay big time as the best big man shooter in the NBA finished with 25 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. It was a near perfect type of game for Towns as he almost had a triple-double. It seemed like every time the Timberwolves needed a bucket they went to the big man and he delivered in a monster way. Karl-Anthony Towns did foul out of the game in the 4th and that’s when Anthony Edwards showed up.
Edwards had struggled early in the game but got it going in the second half. One thing about Edwards that gets overshadowed is his defensive energy. Edwards had a sequence where he had a chase down block on Strus and then turned around down the other end and hit a step back 3 pointer. When Edwards is in this type of zone and locked in on both ends of the floor it will be a long night and Miami found out quickly. Anthony finished with 22 points, 4 assists, and 7 rebounds on the night as he came in big time in the clutch when the Timberwolves needed him. Rudy Gobert had the most important points of the night and it came on 4 late clutch free throws that clinched the game for the Timberwolves. Gobert didn’t attempt a field goal tonight but that didn’t matter too much because his defensive presence always shows up.
Jordan McLaughlin chipped in with a huge 12 points in this game as he had a stretch where he knocked down back to back 3 pointers that had the Target Center going crazy. Every night this Wolves team gets someone to contribute and this has become one of the deepest teams in the NBA right before our eyes. Jaden McDaniels has been able to flourish as well with his scoring as he finished with 18 points on the night. When the Timberwolves got it going like this on a nightly basis they will be a tough team to beat in the NBA. The Timberwolves will be heading to Indiana as they try to make it 5 games in a row on this winning streak.
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