The Minnesota Timberwolves (31-13) continued their road trip with a stop to face off with the Brooklyn Nets (17-26). Brooklyn came into Thursday’s contest having won just two of their last ten games. The Wolves still faced a difficult test despite their significantly better record. On the second night of a back-to-back, Minnesota was facing a fresher Brooklyn team. The Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards duo outlasted the Nets on Thursday night in Brooklyn. The T-Wolves took down the struggling Nets by a final score of 96-94.
Timberwolves player notes:
Karl-Anthony Towns – 27 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 12-15 FG shooting
The sole reason Minnesota held on to win. Towns’ efficiency rung through again as the versatile offensive weapon willed the Wolves to a win.
Anthony Edwards – 24 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 8-23 FG shooting
A strong first half and brilliant start to the third quarter helped fuel Minnesota’s lead. However, the star guard’s poor shooting to close out the game allowed Brooklyn to stay tight as Edwards forced the issue on an off-night.
Rudy Gobert – 10 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, 4-9 FG shooting
Not the gaudiest numbers from Gobert on Thursday night, but the Wolves big man played an essential role anchoring Minnesota’s defense, switching out in space on Nets’ guards and closing the game with a huge slam.
Nets player notes:
Nic Claxton – 16 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 8-10 FG shooting
Claxton was great all night long. Challenging Gobert in the post while also anchoring the Nets' defense, the Nets’ center was a +2 in the loss. With two steals and two blocks, Claxton was great on both ends of the floor.
Mikal Bridges – 21 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 8-18 FG shooting
Bridges started the game slowly as the Wolves’ star stopper, Jaden McDaniels, put the clamps on early. Late in the game, Bridges found his flow and led a strong Nets comeback effort finishing with a solid night.
Cam Thomas – 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-15 FG shooting
The Nets’ bench combined to score 30 points on the night. Thomas made up for 25 of those points as the guard made 10 free throws to go along with his solid shooting.
Game recap:
1st half
The Brooklyn Nets came out swinging in the first quarter. Going straight at Rudy Gobert, Nic Claxton got to work early as he scored the first four points of the game for Brooklyn. The Nets then went to Cam Thomas who’s been a great high-volume scorer for this team all season. The electric shot maker scored an impressive 13 points in his first 12 minutes of game time off the bench. By the end of the first quarter, Brooklyn held a strong 31-24 lead over Minnesota.
Despite the Nets’ hot start, the 2nd quarter was all Timberwolves. Going on multiple big runs, the Timberwolves defense led the way as the Wolves slowed down Brooklyn’s scoring attack. Brooklyn mustered up just 17 2nd quarter points in contrast to Minnesota’s 36 2nd quarter points. The Wolves turned their nine-point deficit into a 12-point advantage at the break.
In the first half, the Timberwolves shot an impressive 23-42 (55%) from the field. With 15 team assists on their 23 made shots, the Wolves’ ball movement led to an effective 6-13 mark from behind the arc through the first 24 minutes. Anthony Edwards (5-10 FG) and Karl-Anthony Towns (7-8 FG) combined for 29 points as they were both impressive on the offensive end leveraging mismatches to their advantage.
Comparatively, the Nets shot just 29% from the field in the second quarter. Nic Claxton was their highest-scoring starter with 10 points on 5-6 shooting to go along with two first-half blocks. Minnesota kept Mikal Bridges in check early on as the Nets’ star shot just 2-10 from the field and 1-5 from three in his first 18 minutes of action.
2nd half
The Minnesota Timberwolves opened the second half targeting more mismatches. With KAT’s size advantage over various Nets, his inside game was money all night long. Edwards flashed his perimeter shotmaking off the dribble in the third quarter as well.
Edwards quickly rattled off eight points in the first five minutes of the third period behind two three-pointers and a smooth pull-up mid-range jumper. Nic Claxton continued to get his though in the second half. The Nets’ big man utilized his left hand to near perfection all night long. One of the most underrated players in the association, Claxton didn’t bat an eye at Gobert’s presence all night long which is quite atypical.
Spencer Dinwiddie found some rhythm in the third period. Despite some recent struggles, Dinwiddie headlined an 8-2 Nets run halfway through the third quarter to keep the Nets close prior to a Chris Finch timeout. Out of that timeout, Dinwiddie canned another triple to pull Brooklyn within six. For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards went cold in this stretch and, at one point, had missed eight straight shot attempts. His exhilarating scoring can sometimes turn to bad offense due to the difficult shot diet that Edwards lives on as a mid-range shooter.
Leading 81-74 heading into the final quarter, the Wolves left the Nets within striking distance. However, Karl-Anthony Towns looked to close the door pouring in five quick points off a driving finish and catch-and-shoot three to start the final frame. From that point though, Minnesota’s offense went numb. Sloppy ball security and poor shot selection led to Brooklyn tying the game up with just one minute to go. From there, KAT delivered a beautiful big-to-big lob off of a strong drive.
After this clutch bucket, Mikal Bridges was fouled with 2.4 seconds to go. After missing the first free throw, Bridges was forced to intentionally miss the second attempt. Despite Brooklyn grabbing the miss, the Nets’ star was whistled for a lane violation on the miss as he crossed the free throw stripe early. The Timberwolves narrowly held on in nail-biting fashion on the road.
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