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Wolves Wrap: Timberwolves win, fire on all cylinders

By Ben Beecken

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And that’s how any team would love to finish the preseason.

After looking largely miserable through the first six games of preseason play, the Timberwolves fired on all cylinders in a 112-108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night at Target Center.

With acting head coach Sam Mitchell playing something likely resembling his season-opening rotation, Anthony Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, and Karl-Anthony Towns all played between 29 and 32 minutes with Kevin Martin, Shabazz Muhammad, and Gorgui Dieng all cracking the 20-minute mark off the bench.

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Wiggins led the team with 24 points on 8 of 16 shooting including 3 of 4 from three-point range and 5 of 6 from the free throw line. He also added six rebounds, four assists, and a blocked shot. Towns was great, too, putting up 18 points and 12 rebounds and putting together a very impressive stretch in the second half when his athleticism on the offensive end of the floor was on full display.

It was a legitimately good showing by the Wolves, even building a nine-point lead late in the fourth quarter before allowing the Bucks to make it close in the final minute. But the offensive synergy and swift, intense defensive rotations were there — a complete 180-degree turn from the rest of the preseason.

The Wolves even showed some new looks on offense, utilizing some nifty play sets that were not in the playbook a year ago. It was a joy to watch, and exactly what Wolves fans can expect out of the best-case version of this squad. Also: the Timberwolves show 9 of 18 from beyond the arc — that’s right, 50%.

At any rate, here’s hoping this solid play spills into next Wednesday night’s ESPN-televised showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.

Star of the Night

Andrew Wiggins – 24 points (8-16 FG, 3-4 3P, 5-6 FT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, one block, 3 turnovers

Wiggins edges out Towns for the Star of the Night. Towns was great, but we saw a little bit of everything from the reigning Rookie of the Year on Friday: draining open three-pointers, pull-up mid-range jumpers, drawing fouls in the lane, finishing in traffic — it was all on display.

Tweet of the Night

Clip of the Night

(courtesy of @TheCauldron)

Other Notable Lines

  • Karl-Anthony Towns: 18 points (8-12 FG, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds, one assist, one assist, one block, zero turnovers
  • Kevin Martin: 20 points (8-15 FG, 1-3 3P, 3-3 FT), 3 assists, one rebound, one steal
  • Ricky Rubio: 13 points (4-7 FG, 1-2 3P, 4-6 FT), 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers
  • Shabazz Muhammad: 19 points (6-11 FG, 2-3 3P, 5-5 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, one block, 2 turnovers

Who’s Got Next?

That’s all for the preseason, folks. Next up, the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s a 9:30 Central Time tip-off from Staples Center in L.A. and will be televised on ESPN as the second part of a season-opening doubleheader.

The Wolves will take the next few days to rest up and hopefully bottle that feeling from Friday night and release it next week. Stay tuned here at DWW for some additional season preview items…

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