Malik Beasley – Minneapolis – had 23 points and Carl-Anthony Towns 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 111-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night in the season opener.
D’Angelo Russell scored 18 points, and Anthony Edwards – the first overall pick in the NBA Draft last month – added 15 points in his early stages as the Timberwolves reached a deficit that often reached double digits and is still in the third. Was also between 12 points. Quarter.
Josh Jackson (19 points) and Derrick Rose (15 points) provided plenty of off-bench production, but the Timberwolves defended themselves and the Pistons were stretched as they were outscored 31-16 in the fourth quarter.
Towns, who made Minnesota’s first basket since a 0-for-7 start, gave the Timberwolves a 98-97 first lead with 3-8 remaining at 3-8 points.
With 2:05 left on the edge of Russell 103-101, the hitters moved a missed ball to the other end by Drake Rose, and Valey Slane was buried with 1:28 to send on his way.
Six-time-l-star, Black Griffin was limited to 18 games with his 15-20 points and seven rebounds after his 2019-20 season with a left knee injury, which hampered him throughout his career. The first overall player in the 2009 draft was one of the few leading players left after being replaced by new general manager Troy Weaver, who is still plenty capable of carrying the load. Griffin, however, managed just one shot effort in the fourth quarter.
Russell came out of the bench and Ricky Rubio started with a point guard for the Wolves due to Russell’s late arrival for the morning short round as he was completing COVID-19 protocol. Coach Ryan Saunders, as promised, was also on the floor for either Russell or Rubio, for a third-quarter stretch in the extremely small-ball lineup with Beasley and Edwards.
Acquired in a four-team trade from Denver in February before Russell reached a deal with Golden State, Beasley displayed anywhere from his total score that the Wolves will re-sign a $ 60 million contract despite his seriousness. He pleaded guilty to counting threats of violence following a recent incident at his suburban home.
Tip-INS
Pistons: Mason Plumley added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Timberwolves: The team observed a moment of silence in the empty field for Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, the mother of Towns, who died of complications from Covid-19 in April.
Now the next
Pistons: Host Cleveland for their home opener on Saturday.
Timberwolves: Start a three-game road trip in Utah on Saturday.
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