Nets at Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves figure to be without All-Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler for the fifth straight game when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Butler is nursing an ailing knee and Minnesota badly missed him in consecutive losses to the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors.
All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns has also been a huge factor in the Timberwolves' rise and his 42 double-doubles lead the NBA. Towns scored 31 points in Thursday's 126-113 setback against the Warriors and the outing represented his 30th career 30-point game, tying him with Tony Campbell for third in franchise history behind Kevin Love (55) and Kevin Garnett (82). Brooklyn was pounded 116-91 by the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday in a dismal showing compared to Tuesday's 109-108 road loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. "I'm disappointed. I felt that after Oklahoma City we'd come in here and give a better effort," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "That wasn't the case. I thought our shot selection was, quite honestly, very poor. We weren't sharing the ball."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE NETS (18-31): Point guard D'Angelo Russell scored 14 points in 21 minutes off the bench versus Milwaukee in his fourth - and best - outing since returning from surgery on his left knee. "He got in a good stretch there," Atkinson said afterward. "He looked like he did in the beginning of the year for us." Russell did commit seven turnovers against the Bucks but his 6-of-14 shooting effort was much better than his success rate over the previous three games - 3-of-16 while averaging 3.7 points.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (31-20): Small forward Andrew Wiggins had a woeful outing in Thursday's loss to Golden State when he had just 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting. Wiggins had been stellar in the first three games Butler missed by averaging 31 points, including a season-best 40-point effort against the Los Angeles Clippers, and coach Tom Thibodeau noted his improvement. "He's been doing it all year," Thibodeau told reporters. "I think his impact on winning is far greater this year than it was last year. It's not just his scoring. It's his defense, his rebounding. He's seeing plays now. He's making other people better. He's doing a lot of things for us.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nets are 6-20 all-time when playing in Minneapolis.
2. Timberwolves SG Jamal Crawford scored 21 points against the Warriors for his NBA record 183rd career 20-point game off the bench, snapping a tie with Ricky Pierce (1982-98).
3. Brooklyn SF Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (groin) departed Friday's game and is questionable to play against the Timberwolves.