Timberwolves Wrap: Wiggins, Towns dominate 76ers

Once again, the Timberwolves followed up a disappointing loss last time out with a dominant, home win over a vastly inferior team.

The Timberwolves led this one nearly wire-to-wire, thoroughly dominating the now-2-10 Philadelphia 76ers, who played just 24 hours prior to tipping off at Target Center in Minneapolis.

But the Wolves needed an easy one after Tuesday’s maddening home loss to the Charlotte Hornets, and an easy one is exactly what they got.

From about midway through the first quarter and throughout the rest of the game, the Timberwolves dominated Philadelphia in nearly every facet. The second half was a little stale and the Wolves actually lost the dreaded third quarter by the slimmest of margins, 25-24, and lost the fourth quarter by a 28-25 tally, but there was no massive breakdown this time around.

Put simply: the Wolves so emphatically dominated the second quarter that the third and fourth frames were simply a charade.

Andrew Wiggins was a revelation — again — putting up 35 points on just 20 shots, including another three makes in just six tries from beyond the arc. Uncharacteristically, he added 10 rebounds and four assists on the night as well.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng also notched double-doubles, and Ricky Rubio only needed to play 25 minutes as Tom Thibodeau gave the keys to rookie Kris Dunn for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

This one was easy. Saturday night in Memphis? That won’t be anything resembling easy, given the run that the new-look Grizzlies have been on of late.

Tweets of the Night

Star of the Game

Andrew Wiggins: 35 points (14-20 FG, 3-6 3P, 4-4 FT), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, one steal

Wiggins was phenomenal once again. He didn’t get to the free throw line like he has of late, but his post game was fantastic and his outside and mid-range shots were on point.

The Sixers simply don’t have anyone that had a prayer at guarding Wiggins one-on-one, and for whatever reason refused to give the likes of Nik Stauskas help in the post. That made for easy-pickings for Air Canada.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 25 points (12-18 FG, 1-2 3P, 0-0 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, one turnover
• Gorgui Dieng: 12 points (4-11 FG, 4-4 FT), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, one block, 2 turnovers
• Zach LaVine: 11 points (5-14 3P, 1-7 3P, 0-0 FT), 2 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, 2 turnovers

Outside of Wiggins and Towns, it was actually a fairly quiet night for much of the rest of the roster. Towns once again failed to get to the free throw line, as did LaVine, the latter of whom made only 5 of his 14 shot attempts. Towns also didn’t manage to hand out many assists, either.

But we’re nit-picking, of course. KAT tallied a 25-10, and gave us the above highlights. That’s enough for this night.

Who’s Up Next?

The Wolves head back to Memphis to face the Grizzlies for the third time in the first 12 games on the schedule. The teams have split the first two contests, with each team winning at home, although the Grizzlies rested much of their roster in the loss to the Wolves in Minnesota.

Next: Why Are The Timberwolves Off To A Slow Start?

The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. Central Time on Saturday night and will air on NBA TV for those of you residing outside the Twin Cities.