The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped their first game of the season in a blowout to the Philadelphia 76ers that saw both Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid ejected.
Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves lost by 42 points when they visited the Philadelphia 76ers in Jimmy Butler’s first game against his former team.
This year, the Wolves lost by 22 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid were both ejected for fighting with one another.
Talk about a one-sided, yet heated rivalry.
The Wolves led about midway through the first quarter, but from that point on it was all Sixers as they built a 19-point lead at halftime. Towns and Embiid each had 13 points and five rebounds in the first half, although it took Embiid six additional shots to get his points.
Before the third quarter was halfway gone, Embiid appeared to hook Towns after the Wolves superstar lost the ball on the offensive end of the floor. Towns pulled back on Embiid’s arm, and neither big man wanted to peacefully untangle and go their separate ways.
The moment that lead to Towns putting Embiid in a headlock has not yet been revealed clearly on camera, but the view from the other end of the floor appeared to show Embiid shoving his hand towards Towns face and Towns stepping back and putting his arms up, suggesting he was ready to throw and/or take some punches.
After the two came together, Towns put Embiid in a headlock before Ben Simmons and Jeff Teague arrived to forcefully separate the two players. Teague tackled Embiid and Simmons jumped on top of Towns and put him in a headlock from behind. (Edit: How could we forget to mention the eye gouge seen ’round the world. Perhaps this action will carry an extra game or two on a suspension.)
Ultimately, the two start big men were ejected and no other penalties were assessed.
The Wolves pulled to within 12 points early in the fourth quarter and appeared ready to make a game of things, but the Sixers quickly scored seven straight points and eventually built their lead back up over 20.
The Wolves actually played solid defense for long stretches at a time, especially early in the game. The offense was stagnant and extremely disjointed, however, and it was an issue both before and after Towns left the game.
Here’s hoping that there isn’t a suspension for Towns and that the Wolves can grab a ‘W’ in Washington on Saturday night.
Player Grades
Other Players
Noah Vonleh struggled in this one, scoring just two points and grabbing two rebounds in 14 minutes. He couldn’t do much to slow down Embiid in the minutes that Towns was on the bench in the first half.
Jordan Bell saw his first non-garbage time minutes in a Wolves uniform and looked good, scoring five points on four shots and pulling down four rebounds. He did turn the ball over three times in 12 minutes and over-dribbled at times.
Jarrett Culver hit his first 3-pointer as a pro, banking one in from the right wing as the Wolves were trying to get back into the game in the fourth quarter. He was just 2-of-8 from the field, however, and only contributed an assist and a steal while grabbing zero rebounds.
Up Next
The Wolves get another two days off before they head to Washington to take on the Wizards, who are only 1-3 on the young season but gave Houston a scare on Wednesday night. The game tips off at 7 p.m. CT.