You can’t really ask for a much better, or a more exciting, start to the season than that.
The Wolves beat the Nets 127-126 in overtime on Wednesday night in the season opener.
It was a game of pretty much everything in Brooklyn. The Wolves led by as much as 18 points in the second quarter, but then the Nets bounced back in the third and ended up taking an eight-point lead. There ended up being 22 lead changes throughout the game and seven ties.
The Wolves crumbled in the third quarter, being outscored 37-20, but they fought back. And with communication and trust, they ended up getting their lead back.
“When you’ve got that kind of unity, you know everyone’s going to do what they say,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after the game. “Everything works out. The one thing about being unified is it works out nice defensively. We’re saying we’re going to do it and we’re not doing it, but that’s when you come together and say hey, we’ve got to pick it up and stuff. Being able to talk to people. One of the biggest things I’ve said about our team is that if we’re going to do something special, we have guys when if we want to speak our mind to the other guy, there’s no ego in it, and there’s love coming out of it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was incredible for the Wolves, finishing with 36 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals. Towns shot 7-for-11 from the 3-point line, including one with a minute left to tie the game at 108-108.
Nets guard Kyrie Irving had 50 points in the game, so it's not like the Wolves shut him down. But Josh Okogie absolutely did on the final possession of the game to clinch the win for the Wolves.
Andrew Wiggins didn’t have his best night as a shooter. He was 0-for-4 from the field and probably took some shots that weren’t the most efficient, but he was great in the fourth quarter and overtime, especially in the pick and roll game with Towns. Wiggins finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.
While former Net Treveon Graham’s line of nine points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal line might not look like much, he was huge for the Wolves down the stretch. He also ended up getting the start for the Wolves.
The Wolves hit 13 3-pointers in the game, nine coming in the first half.
We’ll have plenty more on this win on Thursday morning. For now, enjoy the win. The Wolves are 1-0.
Next up, they’ll travel to play the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.