Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves pull away late, defeat Lakers

The Timberwolves held a slight lead for much of the game on Christmas Day before pulling away late in Los Angeles to win their fourth consecutive contest.

Things weren’t pretty for much of the game on Christmas Day night, but the better team pulled away when it mattered late in the game.

The Timberwolves struggled mightily on defense all night long, with rookie forward Kyle Kuzma doing much of the damage. He scored 31 points on 18 shots and dished out four assists in 41 minutes. Julius Randle had 16 points in just 19 minutes off the bench while Jordan Clarkson (17 points) and Josh Hart (12) were the only other Lakers to reach double-digits in scoring with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Brook Lopez all sitting out due to injury.

Per usual, the Wolves offense was disjointed at times but was overall well-balanced. Taj Gibson scored 23 points on just 13 shots to lead the way along with Jimmy Butler‘s 23 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 10 rebounds while Jamal Crawford supplied 19 points in just 19 minutes off the bench.

The Lakers took a one-point lead with 11:14 remaining in the game, but the Wolves responded with a 13-0 run and never looked back. The closest that L.A. would get the rest of the night was to within seven points on a Hart 3-pointer at the 4:30 mark, but a 5-0 personal run from Taj Gibson more or less sealed the deal for the Wolves.

This was a classic case of a game that Minnesota simply had to have. A bad team missing some of its best players, and on national television to boot. It was a solid win for the Wolves.

Tweet of the Night

Key Takeaways

• The Timberwolves’ offense was well-balanced. Jeff Teague only shot the ball six times, but dished out 10 assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Nemanja Bjelica made his return from injury, only playing six minutes. He was 0-for-1 from the field, missing a 3-point attempt, and 1-of-2 from the free throw line. He also grabbed two rebounds and committed two fouls.
• Marcus Georges-Hunt only played two minutes despite his strong play of late.
• While Towns and Butler both saw 40+ minutes of play, the other three starters were at 34 minutes or below. Tom Thibodeau has seemingly settled into playing Wiggins less than the other minutes of the perhaps inaccurately-named ‘Big Three’ in order to give minutes to his top-three bench players.
• Tyus Jones was awesome and was a key part of the big fourth quarter run, grabbing a pair of steals and helping to key the fastbreak.

Player of the Game

Taj Gibson: 23 points (11-13 FG, 1-1 3P, 12-13 FT), 9 rebounds, one steal, one turnover

Gibson was ultra-efficient in this one. He was his typically solid self all game long, and then supplied a 5-0 run of his own as the Lakers were considering making a game of things in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Notable Box Score Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 21 points (7-12 FG, 2-6 3P, 5-6 FT), 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists, one steal, 3 turnovers
• Jimmy Butler: 23 points (11-20 FG, 1-7 3P), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 16 points (7-16 FG, 2-5 3P), 5 assists, 4 rebounds, one turnover
• Jeff Teague: 6 points (3-6 FG, 0-3 3P), 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steal, 5 turnovers
• Jamal Crawford: 19 points (7-10 FG, 3-5 3P, 2-2 FT), one steal, one turnover
• Tyus Jones: 7 points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3P, 2-2 FT), 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, one turnover

Next: 5 Timberwolves players who have shown early season growth

What’s Next?

The Timberwolves return home to host the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT. It will be meeting No. 2 on the season between the two division rivals; they met last week in a 112-104 Wolves win at Pepsi Center.