Notes from Saturday's win in Utah...
- Anthony Edwards finished the night with 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists and five steals, becoming the eighth rookie in NBA history (first Timberwolves rookie) with such stat line, joining Grant Hill (1995), Penny Hardaway (1994), Lionel Simmons (1991), Ron Harper (1987), Karl Malone (1986), Ron Lee (1977) and John Drew (1974).
- With his five steals, Edwards becomes the ninth Timberwolves rookie to record five steals in a game joining Pooh Richardson (1989-90), Sam Mitchell (1989-90), Christian Laettner (1992-93), Kevin Garnett (1995-96), Craig Smith (2006-07), Ricky Rubio (2011-12), Kris Dunn (2016-17) and most recently Josh Okogie (2018-19).
- Tonight marked Edwards’ 28th 20+ point game of the season, leading all NBA rookies. No other rookie has more than 14 such games. The Timberwolves rookie record for 20+ point games is Christian Laettner in 1993.
- Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a team-high 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 12 rebounds, accounting for his 21st 20+ point/10+ rebound performance of the season (201st career). Since coming into the NBA in the 2015-16 season, no other player in the NBA has more 20+ points/10+ rebound games (Giannis Antetokounmpo, 192).
- Towns connected on two triples, extending his streak of games with at least one three-pointer to 74 straight games, the longest streak by a Timberwolves player in franchise history.
- Off the bench in 30:49 minutes, D’Angelo Russell tallied 23 points, three rebounds and two steals, his 14th 20+ point effort of the season (137th career). Since his return on Apr. 5 vs Sacramento (11 games), he is averaging 19.4 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 11 games.
- In 13:26 minutes of play, Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed seven rebounds, his 18th game this season with at least seven rebounds.
Team Notes
- With the victory tonight, Minnesota holds a 2-0 record on Utah this season. The Timberwolves have now won three straight games in Salt Lake City (Nov. 18, 2019 – Apr. 24, 2021), marking the second time in franchise history that the team has won three straight road games in Utah (Jan. 17, 2001- Mar. 2, 2002).
- With 2:54 left in the first quarter, Minnesota was down by 17 points before coming back to win, accounting for their third largest comeback of the season. This season, the Timberwolves have registered five 15+ point comebacks, only Portland has more (7). All five of Minnesota’s 15+ point comebacks have come since the All-Star break.
- The Timberwolves held Utah to 96 points, marking the fourth time this season that an opponent has been held to less than 100 points this season.
- Minnesota paced Utah 56-26 in points in the paint, the 30th time this season scoring 50+ paint points.