Sunday, 4:00 p.m., Bankers Life Fieldhouse Where to Watch: Fox Sports NorthListen: 830 WCCO
The Wolves are hoping to bounce back from a tough loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. Prior to that, the team had won five-straight games.
Minnesota goes into the game with a 22-14 record, fourth in the West.
The Pacers have dropped three-straight games and sit at 19-17 overall, seventh in the East.
This is the first of a back-to-back for the Wolves as they host the Lakers on New Year’s Day at 4 p.m. The team then hits the road for two games before a five-game homestand.
Coming Off Of . . .
The Wolves are coming off a 102-96 road loss to the Bucks on Thursday in Milwaukee. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 22 points and five rebounds. Andrew Wiggins added 21 points. Jimmy Butler finished with 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals. Taj Gibson had 12 points and seven rebounds. Jamal Crawford led the bench with 11 points.
The Pacers are coming off a 119-107 road loss to the Bulls on Friday night in Chicago. Darren Collison led the Pacers with 30 points, five assists and two steals. Lance Stephenson added 18 points and nine rebounds. Domantas Sabonis led the second unit with 14 points and nine rebounds. Myles Turner finished with 13 points and two blocks. Cory Joseph rounded things out with 10 points and two steals.
Last Matchup . . .
The two teams last faced off on Oct. 24 at Target Center. The Pacers won 130-107 behind 28 points and two steals from Victor Oladipo. Joseph added 21 points, five rebounds and three steals. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and hauled in five rebounds. Collison had 15 points, 16 assists, five rebounds and two steals. Sabonis added 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Rookie T.J. Leaf finished with 11 points.
Towns led the Wolves with 28 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Crawford finished with 18 points, nine assists and two steals. Nemanja Bjelica also scored 18 points. Shabazz Muhammad added 14 points. The Wolves were without Butler.
Key Matchup: Tyus Jones vs. Darren Collison
Jones will start for the injured Jeff Teague (sprained MCL). On the season, Jones has been a solid backup, shooting career highs of 46.9 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 84.4 percent from the free-throw line.
In four career starts, he’s averaging 10.8 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
In his ninth NBA season, Collison is averaging 12.6 points and 5.8 assists per game while shooting a career-high 42.6 percent from the 3-point line. In 15 career games against the Wolves, Collison is averaging 14.9 points and 4.5 assists per game.
Injury Report
Pacers:
Oladipo (knee) is doubtful. Glenn Robinson III (ankle) is out.
Timberwolves:
Teague (knee) is out.
Projected Starters
Pacers:
PG – Collison, SG – Stephenson, SF – Bogdanovic, PF – Young, C - Turner
Timberwolves:
PG – Jones, SG – Wiggins, SF – Butler, PF – Gibson, C - Towns