25 Points Off The Bench For Thomas
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Richard Jean
Bridges Misses Game Tying Free Throws In Loss To Wolves
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
New Jersey native Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Anthony Edwards had 24 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves survived a gritty second-half rally from the Brooklyn Nets, winning 96-94 on the road on Thursday night at Barclays Center. With the win, Minnesota currently sits atop of the Western Conference at 32-13 while the Nets, losers of three straight, fourth at home to drop to 17-27 and 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
Trailing 31-24 at the end of the opening quarter, Minnesota started the second on a 9-0 run, regaining the momentum as they shot 54.8 from field goal range and 46.2% from three-point range in the first half to take a commanding 12-point lead at intermission.
In the third, Minnesota led by as many as 17, but Brooklyn stayed resilient as they outscored the Timberwolves 26-21, behind Spencer Dinwiddie’s 8 points, including two of three three-point baskets, in the quarter. Dinwiddie, whose name is linked to alleged trade rumors as the February 8 trade deadline approaches, finished with 14 points for the Nets .
In the final quarter, Brooklyn tied the game at 94 points following Cam Thomas’ clutch free throws with 76 seconds left in regulation. Thomas, who came off the bench, finished with a team-high 25 points, including 10-10 from the free throw line. The Timberwolves broke the tie on their subsequent possession as Towns found Rudy Gobert, (10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds) for the game-winning alley-oop dunk with 58 seconds left to play.
Brooklyn had a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the closing moments, but were unable to convert as Mikal Bridges, who finished with 21 points, was fouled by Minnesota’s Jaden Mc Daniels with 2.1 second left and the Nets trailing by a deuce. Bridges missed the first free throw attempt and intentionally missed the second, but the Nets were called for a lane violation, securing the Timberwolves second straight victory.
Nic Claxon finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn. The Nets continue their five game homestead with their third game on Saturday against the Houston Rockets.
