In an all-out team win, the Timberwolves beat the Pacers 101-91 on Monday night at the Target Center.
The win moves the Wolves to 2-2 overall, while the Pacers fall to 2-2.
Minnesota had seven players score five or more points, led by Jimmy Butler’s 20 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had his first double-double after leading the league last season, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
For the Pacers, Bojan Bogdanovic and Victor Oladipo finished with 20 points each, but Oladipo shot just 8-for-23 from the field thanks to some excellent defense from Jimmy Butler and Josh Okogie.
As a team, the Wolves were the best we’ve seen them this season defensively. They forced the Pacers to shoot just 39.6 percent from the field to go with 16 turnovers.
Here are some quick observations from the win:
- You read Okogie’s name above. Why was the rookie playing with Butler back in the lineup after resting on Saturday? Well, unfortunately Andrew Wiggins had to leave in the first quarter due to a quad injury. He did not return. We’ll update you on his status when we can. But man, did Okogie come to play. There are guys who just play with energy and have a feel for the game. Okogie is one of those guys. He finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes. He was a +8.
- The box score might not display it, but the Timberwolves point guards played super solid. Jeff Teague finished with just six points and shot 2-for-9 from the field, but he had 10 assists and just one turnover. He continues to look like a top-10 point guard to start the season. And then there’s Tyus Jones. Jones drilled two clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. With his eight points, he also had three steals. Jones continues to show that he’s one of the best point guards in the league.
- Remember when Karl-Anthony Towns promised us he’d be better defensively this season? Well, so far he has been. Not only did Towns finish with 17 points and 14 boards, he also had three blocks. His positioning seems to be much better this year than it was a season ago. You can read more about Towns and how Monday night was a special one for him here.
- Let’s address two things that were discussed at shootaround on Monday. The first was Minnesota’s lack of rebounding so far. Well, the Wolves outrebounded the Pacers 47-45. That’s a win! And it was a win as far as flow for the game is concerned. The Pacers attempted 24 free throws (six less than Wolves’ opponents have averaged this season) while the Wolves also attempted 24 (about 10 less). Generally, as a Wolves fan, you’d want them to shoot more free throws, but early in the season, there have been so many free throws as players adjust to new points of emphasis from the league. A flow to the game is a better thing for the players, media members and fans alike. Tonight was a win in that regard.
More to come Tuesday morning about a solid Wolves win against a team that took LeBron James to seven games in the first round of last season’s playoffs.