Q3: Nets Simmons fouls out, Timberwolves Ant-Man roars back to life

Even though the Minnesota Timberwolves had nothing to fear from Brooklyn Nets Ben Simmons’s ability to score (2 points), it was not until Simmons fouled out with 10:26 remaining in the third quarter that the Timberwolves finally started to mount a comeback. When Simmon’s committed his sixth foul, the Nets had rolled up to a comfortable 17-point lead.

But with Ben Simmons on ice on the Nets’ bench, the Timberwolves’ shooting guard Anthony Edwards finally began to heat up. Edwards scored eight of his 12 points in the third quarter, amounting to 30 percent of the Timberwolves’ total scoring in the quarter.

The third quarter may not have been much for the Timberwolves, but it did halt the Nets’ domination through the first half of the game. With Edwards scoring coming online for the Timberwolves, the team closed the deficit to 11 points, as the Timberwolves outscored the Nets 27-22 in the third quarter.

Ant-Man plays big in the second half

The Nets’ bench continues to outplay the Timberwolves’ bench, and that is particularly disappointing in a game where the Timberwolves’ starters were so very sluggish in the early going.

The difference in this one so far has been perimeter shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell combined for just two of ten from deep range. The Minnesota Timberwolves bench was ice cold, shooting 0 for six from beyond the arc. Even Jaden McDaniels, who is the fifth starter for the team, shot 0 for three from beyond the arc, while piling up five fouls in three quarters.

Anthony Edwards bucked the trend, hitting on three of seven shots from three-point range to help the Timberwolves claw back into this one.  The Timberwolves need to kick in overdrive in this one, as they remain behind with just one quarter left to play.

After Q3