Timberwolves

Wolves Defeat Charlotte In Preseason Finale, 107-79

The Minnesota Timberwolves put a beatdown on the Charlotte Hornets in the preseason finale on Friday night, 107-79.

In a game that was never in doubt, the Wolves began to pull away during the second quarter, outscoring Charlotte 31-19. By halftime, Tom Thibodeau’s club led by the score of 61-44.

The Wolves outscored Charlotte by 19 points during the third, and would take a whopping 36 point lead into the final frame. Six different players entered the fourth having posted double-digit scoring totals.

To nobody’s surprise, Thibodeau isn’t reading too much into the win. This was, after all, just another preseason game.

“We can’t fool ourselves into thinking this is anything other than what it is, which is the preseason,” Thibodeau said during his postgame presser.

“When we get there [the regular season], it goes up to another level, and we need to be ready for that.”


As surely you’ve heard by now, Karl-Anthony Towns is really, really good. The 2015-16 Rookie of the Year honree tallied nine points on 3-of-4 shooting and four rebounds by the 5:06 mark of the first quarter. He finished with 15 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Sure, these are numbers, and numbers are great, but it’s the way Towns goes about his business that’s so damn impressive. Here are a few highlights.

 

As for the rest of the Wolves…

Andrew Wiggins did not play for the second consecutive game due to what the Timberwolves are calling a food allergy related illness, but you can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll be ready to go for the season opener.

Shabazz Muhammad — who, like Wiggins, did not participate in Wednesday’s contest against Memphis — accompanied the first wave of subs off the bench alongside Nemanja Bjelica, Kris Dunn and Cole Aldrich.

In typical Shabazzmanian Devil fashion, Muhammad put up 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The dude continues to have absolutely zero chill when it comes to pursuing offensive rebounds and attacking the basket. Further, he knocked a couple of corner 3-pointers — something he did at an effective clip last season, and must continue to do if he wants to secure his place within Thibodeau’s good graces.

Zach LaVine has never taken a shot he didn’t like. He finished with a modest 26 points on a relatively efficient shooting night (6-of-17 FG).

When you’re playing pickup and the guy on your team yells, ‘TAKE HIS COOKIES!”, this is an example of what he’s telling you to do, courtesy of Kris Dunn.

Dunn played arguably his best preseason game, scoring eight points and dishing out six assists. The rookie entered Friday’s contest with a sub-20 field goal percentage, but showed much better decision making against Charlotte as far as his shot selection was concerned. And it paid off, as Dunn made three of his seven shot attempts.

Mandatory Ricky Rubio Vine for Friday, Oct. 21. ✔️.

Here’s what Rubio had to say after the game, which fell on the night of his 26th birthday!

 

“We’re finding good open shots,” Rubio said, seemingly satisfied with the way he and his teammates have performed throughout the preseason. “On defense, we’re just a totally different team from last year. I think we’re doing a pretty good job in that.”

Much like his head coach, Rubio, who tallied 10 points and six assists in the victory, is keeping things in perspective.

“We’ve gotta be pretty happy with the way preseason has gone, but we just have to focus on the season right now. This team is hungry, and we’re going to prove it.”

 

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