Timberwolves 100, Nets 85
NEW YORK -- Rookie forward Karl-Anthony Towns collected 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves took control midway through the first quarter before pulling away down the stretch for a 100-85 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday afternoon.
Towns scored 19 of his points after the opening 12 minutes when Minnesota took a 10-point lead. Reserve forward Gorgui Dieng scored half of his season-high 20 points in the first quarter when point guard Ricky Rubio had six of his 15 assists.
Rubio tied a season high with his assists and finished two shy of his career high set Nov. 1, 2014, against the Chicago Bulls.
Guards Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Martin added 16 points apiece for Minnesota, which controlled the paint by an 18-4 margin in the opening quarter. The Wolves finished the game with a 48-42 edge in the paint while shooting 47.5 percent (38-of-80) and getting 29 assists.
Center Brook Lopez posted his ninth double-double, finishing with 20 and 12 rebounds for the Nets, but was the only starter to play well in Brooklyn's fifth straight loss. Guard Bojan Bogdanovic added 13, but guard Jarrett Jack along with forwards Thaddeus Young and Joe Johnson combined for only 22 points on 8-of-30 shooting.
The Wolves (11-16) won for the third time in their last 12 games and posted consecutive victories for the first time since a three-game streak last month. They led for the final 40-plus minutes after closing out the opening period with a 16-6 run, all on shots within five feet of the basket.
After taking leads of 52-43 into halftime and 75-65 into the fourth quarter, Minnesota applied the finishing touches early in the fourth. The Wolves took a 95-77 lead on a jumper by guard Zach LaVine with 4:21 remaining before Towns hit two more jumpers.
NOTES: Sunday marked the first time Timberwolves F Kevin Garnett faced the Nets since last February's trade for F Thaddeus Young. The teams met March 16 in Minnesota but Garnett did not play. Garnett heard mostly cheers from the fans during pregame introductions. ... Garnett was six games into his NBA career when Minnesota rookie F Karl-Anthony Towns was born on Nov. 15, 1995, a day when Garnett scored 19 points against the San Antonio Spurs. ... Brooklyn G Shane Larkin missed his third straight game with a concussion and Donald Sloan has received the minutes allotted to Larkin, playing 12 minutes Wednesday and 24 on Friday. ... Minnesota rookie G Tyus Jones scored 30 points for Idaho of the NBA Developmental league against Santa Cruz. Jones is averaging 24.7 points and shooting 48 percent in six games for Idaho.