National Basketball Association
Minnesota 123, Orlando 107
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials:
#11 Derrick Collins, #55 Bill Kennedy, #31 Scott Wall
Attendance:
17102
By The Sports Xchange
ORLANDO -- The Minnesota Timberwolves put their budding Big Three on display Wednesday night, providing a brief glimpse of a potentially very bright future.
Zach LaVine scored a career-high 37 points, Andrew Wiggins added 29, and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 20, carrying the Timberwolves to an easy, 123-107 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center.
LaVine and Wiggins are 21 years old. Towns is 20. All three looked like young stars, not too far from turning the Timberwolves into a winner once again.
"We've got some dynamic players here, and once we all get clicking together, you'll see the results," LaVine said. "There is a great future here."
The Timberwolves (2-5) led from start to finish in snapping a three-game losing streak and winning their first road game this season. They showed no signs of fatigue after losing the previous night in Brooklyn, and never were seriously challenged.
They dominated from start to finish.
"We know what we're capable of," Wiggins said. "People say we have talent here, young talent that just needs some time to develop. We know what we've got going."
Towns scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and grabbed 11 rebounds. LaVine made 14 of 22 shots and hit seven of nine 3-pointers. Wiggins made 10 of 18 shots and two of his four 3-pointers. Forward Gorgui Dieng added 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
"This team is capable of playing at a high level," Towns said. "We needed something like this tonight."
Center Nikola Vucevic led the Magic (3-5) with 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Point guard Elfrid Payton had 18 points and seven assists. Guard Evan Fournier added 13 points, Serge Ibaka 11 points and D.J. Augustin 10.
The Wolves led by 22 points after the first quarter, 27 after the second and 20 after the third. The Magic never got closer than 11 points in the fourth.
"Everybody talks about Wiggins and Towns, but he (LaVine) might be better than both of them," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "They have a very, very talented team."
Vucevic, who had eight points in the first half, scored 14 points in the third period, but the Magic still trailed by 20 points going into the fourth.
They never seriously challenged the Wolves for an extended stretch.
"We have a good basketball team that hasn't figured it out yet," Vogel said. "If we're going to be outworked, with effort and concentration and focus, then you're going to see what you saw tonight."
The Wolves led, 74-47, at intermission, riding 19 points from both Wiggins and LaVine. They led by as many as 30 points in the first half when they made 26 of 43 shots (60 percent) and hit nine of 13 from 3-point range.
It was the fifth time this season the Wolves scored at least 60 points in the first half.
The Magic made only one of seven 3-pointers in the first half when they fell behind quickly and hardly challenged.
Vogel showed his frustration early when he received his second technical foul of the season, protesting a foul call on Ibaka in the first period.
The Wolves outrebounded the Magic 24-14 in the first half and committed just three turnovers. The Magic had six in the first two periods and were outhustled everywhere on the court early.
NOTES: The Timberwolves were without PG Ricky Rubio (sprained right elbow) for the fifth consecutive game. ... Magic F Aaron Gordon isn't shy about his individual goals this season. Gordon, in his third season, wants to be the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, an award won three times by former Magic center Dwight Howard. "I'm ready for that challenge," Gordon said. ... Neither team has been very good defensively this season. The Timberwolves came into the game having allowed more than 100 points six times already this season. "Unless we correct the defensive end, it's going to be a struggle," Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. The Magic were allowing opponents to shoot 46.3 percent from the field, which was 24th worst in the NBA. Magic coach Frank Vogel said before the game he would consider a lineup change, possibly replacing starting C Nikola Vucevic with Bismack Biyombo if the defense doesn't improve. ... Timberwolves F Andrew Wiggins came into the game tied for the league lead in 3-point shooting percentage (66.7 percent).
Top Game Performances
Minnesota |
|
Orlando |
Zach LaVine 37 |
Scoring |
Nikola Vucevic 24 |
Gorgui Dieng 7 |
Assists |
Elfrid Payton 7 |
Gorgui Dieng 11 |
Rebounds |
Nikola Vucevic 14 |
Andrew Wiggins 7 |
Free Throws Made |
D.J. Augustin 5 |
Gorgui Dieng 2 |
Steals |
Mario Hezonja 1 |
Kris Dunn 2 |
Blocks |
Serge Ibaka 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Minnesota
|
123 |
51.7 |
13-23 |
20-26 |
27 |
45 |
5 |
8 |
7 |
Orlando
|
107 |
44.7 |
8-24 |
23-30 |
20 |
39 |
5 |
2 |
9 |
Upcoming Games
-
Orlando will play their next game at home against Utah. The Magic have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .250 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against LA Clippers. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .400 after a loss.