Timberwolves at 76ers
The Minnesota Timberwolves tend to get up for games against opponents with similarly talented young rosters, and the Philadelphia 76ers fit the bill. The Timberwolves will try to bounce back from a loss when they open a two-game road trip at the 76ers on Tuesday.
Minnesota put together one of its best games against a talented young Milwaukee Bucks team in a 116-99 win on Friday but could not muster the same effort in a 95-89 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. The Timberwolves are trying to solve some problems at the point guard spot again, with veteran Ricky Rubio struggling with his shot and taking a seat on the bench down the stretch in Sunday's setback after going 0-of-5 from the floor. The 76ers were missing their starting point guard on Saturday at Denver but still managed to pull out a win as T.J. McConnell stepped up with 17 points and eight assists. "He is a sort of a one-man wrecking crew," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters of McConnell. "He comes in and he just makes things happen. Sometimes, it’s a turnover, sometimes it’s a steal, and sort of he giveth and he taketh, and you roll with T.J."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (11-23): Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine were a combined 26-of-47 from the floor in Friday's win while taking on Milwaukee's young stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, but a depleted Blazers roster that came in as one of the worst defenses in the NBA proved to be a tougher match. Wiggins, Towns and LaVine were a combined 18-of-47 in the setback. Another young star had a better effort as rookie Kris Dunn came off the bench to provide some defense in the point guard spot and ended up 5-of-7 from the floor in 21 minutes.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (8-24): Philadelphia's wealth of young talent is concentrated in the front court, and rookie center Joel Embiid and second-year pro Jahlil Okafor are still getting used to starting alongside each other with both getting regular rest in back-to-back situations. “I feel more than anything ... you can judge numbers and you can judge stats and then you trump it all with like gut feel, a coach’s prerogative, a coach’s gut feel, and you weigh that all up, and so here we are," Brown told reporters of starting the two together. "Whether to say we’ve seen enough I’m not prepared to say. I can say we’ve seen a lot." Embiid averaged 26 points in the first two games of the just-completed four-game trip while starting with Okafor, who averaged six points in those two contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Timberwolves SF Shabazz Muhammad scored in double figures in four of the last five games after going nine straight without reaching 10 points.
2. 76ers PF Ersan Ilyasova is 18-of-31 from 3-point range in the last six games.
3. Minnesota crushed Philadelphia 110-86 at home on Nov. 17 as Wiggins and Towns combined for 60 points and 20 rebounds.