The Minnesota Timberwolves led the Detroit Pistons wire to wire, highlighted by an 18-0, second-quarter run that gave them a comfortable lead for much of a 119-100 blowout win, Tuesday in Detroit.
Anthony Edwards continued his push for the 2020-21 NBA Rookie of the Year award with 22 points for Minnesota (22-47), which won its second straight and sixth in the last nine.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game-high 28 points, including nine in the game's first six minutes to set the tone.
The Timberwolves jumped to an early lead that grew to as many as 12 points in the first quarter and ballooned to 24 points on the strength of Minnesota's 18-0 eruption before intermission. The Timberwolves' lead reached 27 points in the second half.
Detroit (20-50) never came closer than 16 points after the game-deciding run, which was the result of a 5:23 Pistons scoring drought.
Detroit committed 28 turnovers, which Minnesota converted into 34 points. The Timberwolves also had advantages of 22-14 in fast-break points and 56-50 points in the paint to compensate for a 14-for-48 3-point-shooting night.
Minnesota shot 62 percent inside the 3-point arc at 31 of 50.
D'Angelo Russell scored 15 points and dished a game-high 10 assists for Minnesota, while Ricky Rubio added 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor.
Naz Reid came off the bench for 13 points.
Saddiq Bey extended his NBA rookie record for most games making at least five 3-pointers to 13, going 5 of 8 en route to 21 points.
Saben Lee came off the bench for 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. Josh Jackson recorded 11 points, Killian Hayes finished with 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and Sekou Doumbouya posted 12 points and eight rebounds.
Tuesday was Minnesota's final road game of the season. The Timberwolves wrap up with a three-game homestand, while Detroit finishes its current, four-game homestand with its final two games of the season.
--Field Level Media
Minnesota | Detroit | |
Karl-Anthony Towns 28 | Scoring | Saben Lee 22 |
D'Angelo Russell 10 | Assists | Killian Hayes 7 |
Karl-Anthony Towns 8 | Rebounds | Sekou Doumbouya 8 |
Anthony Edwards 6 | Free Throws Made | Saben Lee 8 |
D'Angelo Russell 3 | Steals | Tyler Cook 2 |
Jaden McDaniels 3 | Blocks | Saddiq Bey 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Minnesota | 119 | 45.9 | 14-48 | 15-21 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 16 | 15 |
Detroit | 100 | 46.7 | 10-23 | 20-26 | 21 | 46 | 5 | 8 | 28 |