Timberwolves Wrap: Big win over Mavericks

The Timberwolves kicked-off the unofficial second half of the NBA season with a huge win over the Dallas Mavericks, leap-frogging them in the Western Conference standings.

After a lengthy All-Star Break followed by a slew of trade rumors, the Wolves reconvened and continued the solid play that they had exhibited prior to the layoff.

Ricky Rubio and Shabazz Muhammad both had strong games after being the Wolves players most often mentioned in the rumor, Andrew Wiggins dominated the first quarter, and Karl-Anthony Towns was a force in the second half.

The Wolves led by nine points at halftime and eight heading into the fourth quarter. After a great first half, the Timberwolves bench struggled early in the final frame, allowing the Mavs to come all the way back and tie the game midway through the quarter.

But Minnesota’s defense remained as intense as it has been in a long time, and Towns in particular cleaned the glass like we haven’t seen in a while. The crisp rotations and activity on the defensive end of the floor was the biggest reason for the win, and Towns turned what had been a quiet first half into an impressive 26-18 double-double.

Rubio was great on defense and unstoppable in the open floor, deftly flinging head-manning passes and three-quarters-court outlets that led to layups, dunks, and fouls drawn for the Wolves wing players.

In a rare win while scoring less than 100 points, the Wolves jumped past Dallas in the standings, but with Denver’s win over lowly Brooklyn, they remain three games behind the Nuggets for the eighth-spot in the Western Conference.

Star of the Game

Ricky Rubio: 13 points (6-13 FG, 0-1 3P, 1-2 FT), 14 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers

While Towns had the gaudy tallies of 26 points and 18 rebounds, he was exceedingly quiet in the first half and committed an unsightly seven turnovers. To be sure, his rebounding was huge down the stretch.

But Rubio was awesome all night. While his outside shot was shakier than we’d seen in the games leading up to the All-Star Break, he got to the rim and made a few shots in traffic, and as mentioned previously, was a maestro in the open floor.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 26 points (12-18 FG, 2-3 FT), 18 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, 7 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 27 points (11-21 FG, 1-3 3P, 4-5 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, one block, 4 turnovers
• Tyus Jones: 11 points (4-6 FG, 3-3 3P, 0-1 FT), 2 assists, 2 rebounds, one steal, 25 minutes

As mentioned, Towns was great outside of a quiet first half and a boatload of turnovers. Wiggins scored 16 points in the first half but his shot was a bit iffy the rest of the night. Still, he set the tone early and was good enough late to help seal the win.

Jones played 25 minutes at shooting guard, although he handled the ball quite a bit when sharing the floor with Kris Dunn, who only played 13 minutes. Tyus was great, and played crunch time minutes over starter Brandon Rush, who only played 23 minutes on the night.

Next: Timberwolves Stand Pat At Trade Deadline

Who’s Up Next?

The Wolves head south to Houston for an 8:00 p.m., Saturday night tip-off against the new-look Rockets, who shipped Corey Brewer and a draft pick to Los Angeles for Louis Williams. This will be a tough one, especially on the back-end of a back to back.