National Basketball Association
Preview
Philadelphia at Minnesota
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Minnesota Timberwolves have not won back-to-back games since early February.

Minnesota has a chance to change that fact when it tips off against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves are coming off a 116-98 victory on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

The win coincided with the return of Timberwolves forward Julius Randle. He will look to stay hot after scoring 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting against Phoenix.

Timberwolves leading scorer Anthony Edwards said he and his teammates should give credit to coach Chris Finch for the team's improved play.

"'Finchy' said some great things (before our last game) about just being a team, not letting anything make us dysfunctional and draw us away from each other," Edwards said. "I think we took what he said and carried it over to the game (against Phoenix)."

Philadelphia will play on short rest after losing 119-102 at home against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. The 76ers were outscored 63-41 in the second half.

Top scorer Tyrese Maxey is out after sustaining a back injury on Monday night. Maxey tried to drive to the baseline for a layup and fell against the hardwood after drawing contact.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse acknowledged that the 76ers' injury woes seem to keep growing.

"I've just always (thought it has) been really helpful that things will balance out, that at some point the injury bug will leave us or the injury cloud will leave us, and it just doesn't seem to, right?" Nurse said. "It's disappointing first and foremost for the players but obviously it's been a lot and not easy to deal with.

"But it's like I told the guys: They played some really good basketball at times (Monday night), and we've got to shake it off and get out of here as quick as we can, get there and rest up (Tuesday) and get ready to try and figure out how to play again."

Maxey leads the 76ers with 26.3 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting overall and 33.7 percent shooting from 3-point range. Second-leading scorer Joel Embiid (23.8 points per game) has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of a left knee injury.

Edwards leads the Timberwolves with 27.6 points per game. He is shooting 43.9 percent overall and 40.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

Randle is next with 18.9 points per game, and Naz Reid rounds out the top three scorers with 14.7 points per contest.

This is the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams. They also are scheduled to square off April 5 in Philadelphia.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Philadelphia 21-39 L1 11-21 10-18 3-1 18-38 3-9 14-24
Minnesota 33-29 W1 16-14 17-15 3-3 30-26 7-5 25-18
Last Meeting
Philadelphia Minnesota
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
12/20/23 MIN 113 PHI 127 127 36 53.6 113 39 51.2
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Philadelphia J. Embiid 51 68.0 17
Minnesota A. Edwards 27 45.0 7
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Philadelphia J. Embiid 12 2 10
Minnesota K. Towns 13 3 10
Assists Player  
Philadelphia T. Maxey 5
Minnesota A. Edwards 5
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Philadelphia T. Maxey 1411 43.4 261
Minnesota A. Edwards 1691 43.8 310
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Philadelphia K. Oubre Jr. 366 96 270
Minnesota R. Gobert 602 200 402
Assists Player  
Philadelphia T. Maxey 332
Minnesota A. Edwards 282
Quickchart Matchup
Philadelphia Philadelphia Off vs  Minnesota Minnesota Defense
Philadelphia Off vs Minnesota - Points For 109.0 Points For
Philadelphia Off vs Minnesota - Points Against 109.0 Points Against
Philadelphia - FG% 45.4 FG%
Minnesota - FG% 45.8 FG%
Philadelphia - Reb 39.3 Reb
Minnesota - Reb 43.7 Reb
Minnesota Minnesota Off vs  Philadelphia Philadelphia Defense
Minnesota Off vs Philadelphia - Points For 112.1 Points For
Minnesota Off vs Philadelphia - Points Against 113.6 Points Against
Minnesota - FG% 45.8 FG%
Philadelphia - FG% 48.7 FG%
Minnesota - Reb 44.0 Reb
Philadelphia - Reb 44.9 Reb