Anthony Edwards scored 25 points, D’Angelo Russell had 23 points and 10 assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves smack the Brooklyn Nets 136-125 on Sunday night.
Karl-Anthony Towns overcame a poor shooting night and scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter when the wolves ended the game and won for the third time in four games.
“It doesn’t have to be me every night,” said Towns, Minnesota’s leading scorer and rebounder. “That’s why we have great talents like D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards. You need to be able to rely on them. They can handle the load as well as I can.”
Minnesota also received strong contributions from their role players. Jaylen Nowell scored 16 points, Taurean Prince had 15 and Jaden McDaniels added 14. The three went 18 for 26 from the floor, including a perfect 6-for-6 night from Prince.
“These guys come in and bring their own energy and spice to the game,” Russell said. “It relieves everyone.”
Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 30 points for the nets, while Patty Mills on her way to five 3-pointers hit 21 points. Kessler Edwards added 15 points, and James Harden had 13 points and 13 assists for Brooklyn, which is 2-2 since losing scoring king Kevin Durant to a sprained ligament in his left knee.
“I don’t know if we did enough resistance, not enough in the body,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “We didn’t have the feeling that our willpower, our strength, was felt defensively. Anyway, we didn’t have any juice there tonight. … We tried to find a way to stay and see if we can get a defensive run. We never did.”
Minnesota led by as many as 15 in the third quarter before a after surge drew the nets within seven in the fourth. Then Towns went to work, hit a pair of 3-pointers and turned a three-point play into part of his huge fourth quarter.
The Nets dominated the Boards, outrebounding Minnesota 16-5 in the first quarter and 48-37 overall. But after shooting above 55 percent in the first quarter, Brooklyn froze and hit just 8 of 24 shots in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Russell led Minnesota with 17 points in the first half, when the wolves shot 56.8 percent from the floor for a 72-62 lead at the break.
WITH THE CONSEQUENCE OF CALLING HIM?
NBA officials have cracked down this year on rude players who make moves exclusively intended to make contact and draw fouls. Harden has been considered the poster child for this rule, and his coach is frustrated with the treatment his Star Guard sometimes gets.
“I think there are nights when it’s right, including this year’s priorities,” Nash said. “There are other nights when he feels like he’s being targeted all night. It is simply automatically thrown into the center of gravity where it causes the fault, which is not always the matter at all.”
Harden said he’s more worried that his opponents aren’t getting the same scrutiny, and he just hopes the rule will be invoked consistently.
“Of course you can’t call everyone, but there are those who have a stiff arm and travel and things like that,” Harden said. “But at the other end, there is no consistency. So it’s frustrating.”
He also said he hadn’t heard much about a statement from officials regarding some of the debatable foul calls.
“Nothing, honestly. Like, ‘I didn’t see it’ or ‘I didn’t think it was a foul.”But he’s clear as extremely clear,” Harden said. “But I have to keep going. It won’t stop me. Always keep in the basket, keep being aggressive and keep making plays for my team.”
ASSISTANCE TO REFEREES
Minnesota took a big break early in the fourth quarter, right after Irving made two free throws to cut the lead to 106-102. On the Wolves’ next possession, a wild pass was led out of bounds when it was deflected by referee Curtis Blair.
Josh Okogie picked up the loose ball just before crossing the halfway line. When the Shot Clock expired, the wolves worked on Prince in the corner, and he dropped a 3-pointer to push Minnesota’s lead back to seven. The nets got the rest of the way no closer than six points.
MORE THAN 300
Anthony Edwards has celebrated his 300th birthday. Career 3-pointers in the first quarter. At 20 years and 171 days, he is the youngest player in NBA history to have amassed 300 3-pointers, surpassing Luka Doncic’s record of 187 days.
Edwards limped off the floor after in the fourth quarter after hitting a Nets player. He did not return to the game, although Wolves coach Chris Finch said Edwards told him it was nothing serious.
ADVICE TO
Nash said guard Joe Harris suffered some “setbacks” in his recovery from ankle surgery in after November. He was expected to be out between 4 and 8 weeks, but Nash said Harris wasn’t healthy enough yet to return to practice.
Timberwolves: Minnesota played without G Patrick Beverley, who wounded his right knee Wednesday in the game at Atlanta. … In the last five games, the Timberwolves have been outscored by 51 points in the third quarter. On Sunday, Minnesota was only minus – 3 (33-30) in the third.
