Anthony Edwards scored 26 points and dished eight assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 122-101 win over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting for Minnesota, which won its fourth game in a row. Rudy Gobert registered a double-double with 17 points and 21 rebounds.
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points on 11-for-25 shooting to lead New Orleans. Rookie Jordan Hawkins added 14 points for the Pelicans, who lost their third straight game.
The Timberwolves shot 54.9 percent (45 of 82) from the field, including 40.5 percent (15 of 37) from 3-point range. By contrast, the Pelicans shot 38.7 percent (36 of 93) overall and 28.6 percent (8 of 28) from deep.
Minnesota also won the battle of the boards, with a 48-40 advantage in rebounds.
The Pelicans played without star forward Zion Williamson, who missed the game for personal reasons. Williamson reportedly welcomed the birth of his newborn child.
Minnesota surged to a 72-44 lead at the half.
Towns led the Timberwolves with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc, before the break. Mike Conley made 4 of 5 attempts from 3-point range and had 12 points.
Ingram notched 17 points before halftime to lead all scorers. However, the remainder of the Pelicans’ starting lineup had only 20 points on 7-for-20 shooting before intermission.
Minnesota held a 28-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Pelicans’ Hawkins cut the deficit to four points when he made a jump shot with 13.1 seconds left in the quarter.
The Timberwolves held on to a 30-29 lead before going on a 42-15 run to close the first half. Conley drained a 3-pointer to spark the run, which included two 3-pointers from Towns in a 29-second span.
New Orleans could not close the gap in the third quarter. The Timberwolves finished with a slight 25-24 advantage to make it 97-68 heading into the final quarter.
–Field Level Media
