National Basketball Association
Minnesota 111, Orlando 105
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, January 30, 2017
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
#74 Curtis Blair, #31 Scott Wall, #4 Sean Wright
Attendance:
11124
By The Sports Xchange
MINNEAPOLIS -- Considering Andrew Wiggins' fourth-quarter heroics, it was only fitting that he led Minnesota to victory in overtime.
Wiggins scored six of his game-high 27 points in overtime as the Timberwolves edged the Orlando Magic 111-105 on Monday night at Target Center.
Before Wiggins took control in overtime, the third-year forward hit a game-tying, contested jumper with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter to keep the game alive.
There wasn't much Orlando could do defensively to stop Wiggins down the stretch.
"My teammates trust me to put the ball in the basket when it counts," Wiggins said. "And that's what I did."
Wiggins was big in overtime for Minnesota (19-29). Along with six points in the extra session, he also had a key block on defense -- one of several blocks by the Timberwolves in overtime.
Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points -- his 30th 20-point game of the season -- and 12 rebounds. Point guard Ricky Rubio added 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Orlando (19-31) seemed to run out of gas in overtime. Monday marked the second night of a back-to-back for the Magic, who beat the Toronto Raptors by one point on Sunday.
"It's tough. Our guys played hard and competed and played well enough to win," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "You've got to make plays down the stretch."
After Wiggins' jumper tied the score at 98, Elfrid Payton had a chance for the winner for Orlando. However, his long jumper fell short as the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation.
"That's not the shot we wanted," Vogel said. "That's all I'll say about that."
Payton's 21 points led the Magic, and C.J. Watson chipped in 18 points. Serge Ibaka (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (13 points, 11 rebounds) posted double-doubles for Orlando.
The Magic's leading scorer this season, Evan Fournier, returned to action after missing eight games with a sore foot. He had nine points in 30 minutes off the bench in his first game since Jan. 13.
Orlando, which trailed for much of the fourth quarter, took a 98-96 lead with under a minute left after Aaron Gordon converted a three-point play. That capped a 13-2 run for the Magic, but they couldn't make one final defensive stand to preserve their lead.
"It's tough because we did a pretty good job overall in the first 48 minutes defensively," Fournier said. "Maybe a little fatigue, I don't know. But we couldn't get the stops."
The Timberwolves put together an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to gain a six-point lead. That surge was highlighted by a 3-pointer in the corner by Shabazz Muhammad after a kick-out pass from point guard Kris Dunn.
Muhammad's make forced Orlando to call timeout while trailing 89-83 with 6:34 left.
The 3-point shooting of Rubio kept Minnesota in the game in the third quarter. He connected on a career-high six 3-pointers in the game. Three of those came in the third quarter, including one that tied the score at 70.
"It felt good and I let it fly," Rubio said.
Rubio wasn't the only Timberwolves player connecting from deep. All five starters hit at least one 3-pointer, and Muhammad made two off the bench. The Timberwolves were 12 of 29 from deep as a team.
Minnesota took an 80-79 lead into the fourth quarter after Muhammad hit a half-court shot as the buzzer sounded. Muhammad finished with 10 points to lead Minnesota's reserves.
Orlando has not won back-to-back games since Dec. 26. The Timberwolves have now won two straight and have picked up wins in eight of their last 11 games.
"For us to not play the best defensively and offensively and to come out with a win, it shows a lot of growth," Towns said. "Even when things are not going right for us, we find a way to win and scratch one out."
NOTES: Magic F Aaron Gordon started, one day after tweaking an ankle in Orlando's road win over Toronto. He scored 12 points in 28 minutes. ... Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about the decline in playing time for C Cole Aldrich. "A big part of that is what your opponents are doing," Thibodeau said. Aldrich averaged 13.2 minutes per game through 25 games but just 5.7 mpg in Minnesota's last 17 games before Monday. He scored two points in four minutes on Monday. ... Minnesota heads on the road for a two-game trip beginning Wednesday at Cleveland. ... The Magic return to Orlando for two straight home games, starting Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers.
Top Game Performances
Orlando |
|
Minnesota |
Elfrid Payton 21 |
Scoring |
Andrew Wiggins 27 |
Nikola Vucevic 5 |
Assists |
Ricky Rubio 8 |
Nikola Vucevic 11 |
Rebounds |
Gorgui Dieng 14 |
C.J. Watson 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Karl-Anthony Towns 6 |
Elfrid Payton 3 |
Steals |
Andrew Wiggins 2 |
Serge Ibaka 2 |
Blocks |
Karl-Anthony Towns 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Orlando
|
105 |
42.7 |
10-35 |
13-19 |
22 |
48 |
3 |
7 |
11 |
Minnesota
|
111 |
44.0 |
12-29 |
19-26 |
29 |
50 |
11 |
3 |
12 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Cleveland. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .316 after a win and .448 after a loss.
-
Orlando will play their next game at home against Indiana. The Magic have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .433 after a loss.