Minnesota snapped a two game slide as they outlasted LeBron and the Lakers at home Monday night. The Timberwolves now try to get a division victory to get back to the .500 mark on the season. Minnesota was up four after one quarter and trailed by one after three before pulling the game out in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves shot 42.9 percent from the field but went 14 of 30 from three point range, including eight triples in the fourth quarter. Minnesota was solid at the line, cashing in 26 of 30 attempts, forced 18 turnovers and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds in the win.
Jimmy Butler led the Timberwolves with 32 points in the win. Minnesota has gone 2-2 ATS at home this season and the over is 2-2 in those contests.
The Timberwolves come into this game 10th in scoring with 114.3 points a game. Minnesota is 19th in rebounding with 44.3 boards a night and 16th in assists by dishing out 23.6 dimes per contest. The Timberwolves are 22nd in scoring defense as they allow 117.6 points per game. Jimmy Butler leads the team with 22.5 points per game this season. Karl-Anthony Towns puts up 17.6 points plus 9.9 rebounds per game, Jeff Teague adds 12.7 points along with 6.9 assists per contest and Andrew Wiggins chips in 15.8 points per night. Derrick Rose (14.3 points, 4.9 assists), Gorgui Dieng and Taj Gibson (10.4 points, 7.3 boards) are off to strong starts for Minnesota. Josh Okogie, Tyus Jones and Anthony Tolliver are going to be looked to for crucial minutes for coach Tom Thibodeau. The Timberwolves are tied for 24th in the league in field goal percentage as the team shoots 43 percent from the floor. Minnesota is 18th in the league in threes with 10.9 per game and is 11th in the league in three point shooting as they’ve hit 36.9 percent of their attempts from downtown. Wiggins has missed the last three games with a quad injury and he is questionable for this contest.
