The Minnesota Timberwolves played solid defense for the first time in the young season and evened their record to 2-2 with a 101-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves played what was easily their best defense so far this season, holding the Pacers to 91 points and doing just enough on offense to manage a 10-point win.
The Wolves’ offense was an extremely balanced attack; Jimmy Butler led the way with just 20 points on 12 shots. Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Minnesota had five players in double digits in both shot attempts and points scored, including rookie Josh Okogie, who stepped in and played 24 minutes off the bench after Andrew Wiggins left in the first quarter due to a bruised quadriceps and didn’t return.
The Timberwolves trailed by three points after the first quarter and played extremely hard throughout the second quarter to manage a one-point lead of their own by halftime.
The second half featured solid play from the Wolves’ bench, led by Tyus Jones (eight points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals) and Okogie. Derrick Rose had an inefficient night, shooting just 4-for-12 from the field and taking a number of contested shots in isolation, but hit a couple of big buckets back-to-back late in the game as the Wolves were pulling away.
This game was more defined by the Wolves’ hustle on defense and in the open floor. They did a great job rotating to cover open shooters and scrambling to still crash the glass to spark fast breaks. After the Pacers scored 10 early points off of second-chance opportunities, the Wolves clamped down on the boards and turned Indiana misses into their own offense.
This was an all-around solid game from the Timberwolves on both ends of the court against a solid Pacers team that will certainly be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference.
Tweet of the Night
Josh Okogie's first-career dunk pic.twitter.com/PjOmm12jP9
— Kyle Ratke (@Kyle_Ratke) October 23, 2018
Key Takeaways
- It’s tough to understate just how well Josh Okogie played overall. While he had some struggles on the offensive end of the floor, he played outstanding defense, rebounded his position tenaciously, and showed positive flashes with the ball in his hands, too. The Jimmy Butler comparison that yours truly made after the draft looked fairly spot-on tonight.
- The Wolves 16 turnovers from the Pacers and grabbed nine steals. They also blocked 11 shots, including three by Towns and two each by Taj Gibson and Anthony Tolliver.
- While Butler didn’t have a noisy night on offense, his presence was huge defensively. And playing him and Okogie alongside the aggressive Tyus Jones in the backcourt was a lot of fun.
Notable Timberwolves Lines
- Jimmy Butler: 20 points (6-12 FG, 0-2 3P, 8-8 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 17 points (6-12 FG, 1-5 3P, 4-4 FT), 14 rebounds, 3 blocks
- Taj Gibson: 13 points (6-7 FG, 1-1 3P), 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, one assist, one steal
- Josh Okogie: 12 points (5-13 FG, 1-6 3P, 1-1 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 steals
- Derrick Rose: 11 points (4-12 FG, 0-4 3P, 3-3 FT), 5 assists, 2 rebounds, one steal
Up Next
The Timberwolves’ one-game homestand is over, and they’ll head east to Toronto to face the Raptors on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. CT.