Timberwolves Recap: Wolves come back to beat Sixers

All in one fell swoop, the Timberwolves ended their home losing streak and extended the Philadelphia 76ers’ win-less start to the season.

It was an ugly game, and it’s impossible to say that the Timberwolves deserved to win. But it was another comeback victory and did show some resiliency and a sense of pride. Nobody wants to be the first team to lose to the now 0-16 Sixers. Besides, the Wolves have been there, done that with a then 0-17 76ers squad nearly a year ago.

But it wasn’t without a number of touch-and-go moments. Like when the Wolves came back from a six-point halftime deficit and took a seven-point third quarter lead behind inspired play from Ricky Rubio and Kevin Garnett, only to see the bench go scoreless for the first three-plus minutes of the fourth quarter and give it all back.

The Wolves trailed by six points with 4:58 on the clock in the fourth quarter and by five with just 2:39 remaining. But Andrew Wiggins happened, and that nasty home losing streak was history.

Wiggins scored 15 points between the 8:46 mark of the fourth quarter and the final horn. He scored in a variety of ways in the lane, but jump-shots were not one of them. That’s encouraging (he did miss a couple of open jump shots), and it’s something that Wolves fans have seen more and more of so far this season.

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The dagger came with just 28.4 seconds on the clock. After milking the clock, Wiggins spun out of a double-team above the arc on the right side of the floor and passed to a wide-open Kevin Martin on the left wing. He knocked down the triple and extended the Wolves’ lead to 96-91 and mostly salted the game away.

Third-overall draft pick Jahlil Okafor outplayed number-one pick Karl-Anthony Towns, finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks but turning the ball over four times. Most of that damage was done in the first half before foul trouble and the Wolves’ increase in double-teams slowed him down.

Towns was in foul trouble early but stumbled to just six points and two rebounds (!) in only 19 minutes. He did not turn the ball over and did manage a couple of blocks.

It was not an aesthetically pleasing evening of hoops, but the Wolves’ play in crunch time was fantastic. There is a lot to fix (the bench was atrocious, the rotation was questionable, and Martin is still struggling overall), but a win is a win, and Wiggins is awesome.

Tweet of the Night

Star of the Night

Andrew Wiggins – 32 points (10-21 FG, 1-3 3P, 11-12 FT), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, one assist, 2 turnovers

Wiggins was good throughout the game, but turned it on in the fourth quarter as noted in the recap. His fearlessness and understanding of how to draw fouls in the paint is huge. Combine that with his athleticism and touch around the rim and the reigning Rookie of the Year is quickly becoming a monster.

Other Notable Lines

• Ricky Rubio – 8 points (2-5 FG, 0-1 3P, 2-2 FT), 11 assists, 6 rebounds, one steal, 4 turnovers
• Zach LaVine – 12 points (4-12 FG, 0-3 3P, 4-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 turnovers, zero assists
• Kevin Garnett – 8 points (4-5 FG), 10 rebounds, 2 steals, one assist

Up Next

The Timberwolves will play host to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. You may remember the Wolves’ big road win over the mighty Hawks a couple of weeks ago; here’s hoping that it doesn’t have quite the same process but that it might have the same end result.

Next: A Look At The Timberwolves' Improved Defense

The Wolves are in the midst of a nice stretch of home games and it would be great to pick up another one, but it certainly won’t be easy. We’ll have additional thoughts on your now-6-8 Timberwolves and a preview of Wednesday’s game, too, so stay tuned.