Timberwolves Wrap: Rubio leads blowout of Wizards

The Timberwolves returned to their winning ways with a blowout win over the Washington Wizards behind a franchise-record 19 assists from Ricky Rubio.

The Timberwolves followed up their impressive home win over the Warriors last Friday night with a loss the following night in Milwaukee. But they pulled themselves together at home on Monday with an easy win over what is already a 41-win Washington Wizards squad.

Ricky Rubio tallied nine points and 10 assists in the first quarter and the Wolves built a 21-point lead in short order. But the visitors made headway in the second frame, outscoring the Wolves by a 33-23 margin and pulling to within 11 points at halftime.

Minnesota’s fast break offense was dominate throughout the first half, but as the game wore on the Wizards made the necessary adjustments and cut-off Rubio’s head-manning passes. Washington picked up the pace a bit themselves and ultimately managed to stay within three and four possessions back for much of the second half.

Just as it felt as though the Wizards were about to make a final push and take the lead in the fourth quarter, Tom Thibodeau inserted all of his starters back in the game to build the lead back up to double digits. Karl-Anthony Towns and Rubio combined to dominate down the stretch with both Nemanja Bjelica and Gorgui Dieng playing important complementary roles throughout.

Rubio was a maestro and Towns was efficient and unstoppable, despite not attempting a single free throw until the game was essentially out of reach late in the fourth quarter. When it was all said and done, Rubio had set the franchise record at 19 assists, breaking the previous record of 17 that he had already tied multiple times.

Unfortunately, the Denver Nuggets are ahead by 24 points at halftime over the Los Angeles Lakers and look like a safe bet to maintain their 3.5 game lead over the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Star of the Night

Ricky Rubio: 22 points (8-15 FG, 2-5 3P, 4-4 FT), 19 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 6 turnovers

Rubio was fantastic. He’s the player of the game simply because he set the tone early and paced the offense late, all while forcing John Wall into 6-of-16 from the field and four turnovers. Wall did attempt a whopping 19 free throws, but he only had five assists and was never able to grab control of the game.

Towns’ gaudy numbers could have landed him these honors, but he was in foul trouble as the Wolves built their early lead while Rubio was solid throughout the game. But this was a 1a and 1b situation; both guys were awesome.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 39 points (17-26 FG, 2-4 3P, 3-3 FT), 13 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, zero turnovers
• Nemanja Bjelica: 16 points (6-7 FG, 1-2 3P, 3-4 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, zero turnovers
• Gorgui Dieng: 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, one steal, 3 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 15 points (5-15 FG, 1-2 3P, 4-6 FT), 5 rebounds, one assist, one block, one turnover

Towns and Bjelica combined for exactly zero turnovers, and Bjelly only missed one shot from the floor in seven attempts. Both notched double-doubles and were overall solid on defense. Ian Mahinmi fouled out in just 22 minutes, and Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris combined for just 18 points and 13 rebounds on the night.

Next: The Timberwolves Playoff Hopes Are Still Alive

Who’s Up Next?

The Timberwolves head to Boston for a difficult match-up on Wednesday night. After defeating the East’s third-best team on Monday, the Wolves will now face the Celtics, who entered play on Monday one game ahead of Washington in the conference standings.