The Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets Friday night by a final score of 95-78. Karl-Anthony Towns was extremely impressive, tallying 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks, all team-highs on the night.
Andrew Wiggins chipped in with 18 points as he got to the free throw line 10 times, hitting eight of his attempts. Kevin Martin added 14 points and Ricky Rubio scored 12 in addition to logging a team-high eight assists.
The game was sloppy on both sides for long stretches. The Timberwolves again tried Zach LaVine as the backup point guard, and while he performed well enough overall with 10 points and three assists, the offense did not look good while he was running it for the second straight game.
The Wolves only shot 2-11 on three-pointers, but the main reason the number of attempts stayed so low was because of the high quality looks they were getting inside all game. Of Towns’ 11 made baskets, seven came inside the paint, per NBA.com.
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The Wolves were also able to produce about a third of their points from the free throw line. They shot an impressive 33-41 from the charity stripe (80.5%). By contrast, the Nuggets only got to the line 20 times and cashed in on just 75% of their chances.
The Wolves were able to double the Nuggets free throw attempts by being aggressive and attacking the basket, as Towns, Wiggins, and Rubio all attempted seven or more free throws apiece. While the lack of three-pointers may be concerning based on what Wolves fans have been hoping for, the low number of attempts was largely due to the easy chances the Wolves were getting close to the basket.
For the Nuggets, Kenneth Faried put up nine points and 15 rebounds while exciting rookie Emmanuel Mudiay put up 15 points on 15 shots. Also, after recording 11 turnovers in the first game, Mudiay only had four against the Timberwolves, an encouraging sign for Nuggets fans.
But this game was all about the two franchise cornerstones of the Wolves. Towns was the best player on the court all night, and he combined with Wiggins to account for just over half of the Wolves’ points. Towns also teamed up with Kevin Garnett (four points, six rebounds) to deter Nuggets players in the paint all night.
This win improved the Timberwolves to 2-0 on the season; it took the Wolves until February 6th to win consecutive games last year, per Kevin Pelton.
These first two games were against teams widely believed to end up in the Western Conference cellar this season, but it has been an encouraging start for the Wolves nonetheless.
Tweets of the Night:
That was amazing. Karl-Anthony Towns blocked a shot and then hit an 18-footer as @JimPeteHoops was doing a monologue on how special he is.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) October 31, 2015
.@KarlTowns is the first teen to start his career with back-to-back double doubles in NBA History. h/t @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/JPrJZ7poCz
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 31, 2015
Star of the Night:
Karl-Anthony Towns: 28 points (11-19 FG, 6-7 FT,), 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks, one turnover
Who else could it be but Karl-Anthony Towns? In just his second game, he put up huge numbers for any player, much less a rookie.
He is the first teenager in NBA history with a double-double in each of his first two games, per ESPN Stats & Info. He led the team both on offense and on defense, completely owning the paint on both ends of the court.
Towns looked extremely polished in finishing around the basket, but he also stepped out and hit 3 shots from mid-range. He also showed off some nice vision, hitting teammates with pretty passes a few times, although he only tallied 2 assists.
Nobody expected Towns to be this dominant already. He got off to a great start, getting six points in the first three minutes of the game, and he just kept it going from there. He looked like a young version of KG this game, and with KG as his mentor, he should just keep getting better and better. And that’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.
Stat of the Night:
Although we already touched on it, we’ll go with this stat:
The Timberwolves were 33-41 on free throws. Towns, Wiggins, and Rubio were all aggressive in getting to the line tonight. If the Wolves can consistently get fouled and make them with the proficiency that they showed tonight, that will be a lot of easy points generated.
Other notable Timberwolves lines:
Shabazz Muhammad: 16 minutes, 2 points (1-5 FG, 0-2 3PT), one rebound
Gorgui Dieng: 13 minutes, 2 points (1-3 FG), one rebound, one block
In addition, both Andre Miller and Adreian Payne recorded DNP: Coach’s decisions. Miller was expected to be the backup point guard, but that has mostly gone to LaVine. Payne just hasn’t been impressive enough to warrant playing time.
Next: How Much Will Ricky Rubio's Jump Shot Help the Wolves?
Who’s got next?
The Wolves will come home for the weekend services being held in remembrance of Flip Saunders.
They will then take on the Portland Trail Blazers at the Target Center on Monday night at 7:00 Central Time. This will be another game against a team many believe to be at the bottom of the Western Conference, although the Blazers were impressive in their first game against the Pelicans.
If Towns, Wiggins, and Rubio can carry over their strong play from the first two games, there is a good chance that the Wolves could start this season by winning 3 (!) straight.