Derrick Rose and Karl-Anthony Towns lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 112:102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. It’s the team’s fourth success since superstar Jimmy Butler was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Minnesota was able to clinch their fourth victory in the sixth game after the departure of Jimmy Butler. However, the match against Brooklyn only got off to a very leisurely start. Especially the defense left a lot to be desired on both sides and the players often didn’t seem committed enough to chase the ball.
The away team got off to a better start, but the Nets caught up with a 7-0 run in the middle of the first quarter. At the end of this part of the game they even extended this run to 18:8 and took the lead with four points. However, both teams continued to neglect their transition defenses and especially in the Nets the turnovers increased, at halftime it was already 10.
Meanwhile Taj Gibson brought the Wolves back into the front and was at halftime with 12 points and 6 rebounds. With a 12:2 run Minnesota said goodbye to the break, Karl-Anthony Towns had only two points on his account. But the center really turned up during the third quarter and scored an outstanding 17 points, Brooklyn couldn’t find an answer.
It was not until the end of the final section that the Nets fought their way back up and convinced with their unselfish playing style. Six Nets players scored a double-digit number of points, but it was not enough in the final phase. The Wolves kept their nerve, Derrick Rose was again unstoppable and scored 25 points (11/17 FG). KAT finished the duel with 21 points (9/18 FG) and 9 boards, while Gibson came up with a double double with 16 points (6/7 FG) and 11 rebounds.
D’Angelo Russell had a bad day, stayed at 0/6 from downtown and scored only 5 points (2/10 FG). Spencer Dinwiddie had the best performance on the Nets’ side with 18 points (6/14 FG), and he also prepared 8 goals for his colleagues. Decisive were the 18 turnovers of the home team, which made it too easy for the Wolves to score in the fast break over long distances.