History has to wait. @Sixers beat the Timberwolves 85-77 for their first win this season: http://t.co/gbbp57uZ1c pic.twitter.com/NkVY511Nd7
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) December 4, 2014
Philadelphia was winless coming into Target Center Wednesday night, but that may have felt like ancient history after they picked up their first win of the season by beating the Wolves 85-77.
With the victory Philadelphia was able to avoid equaling the 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets for the worst start in NBA history at 0-18.
The start of the game should have provided an idea of what to expect. The Associated Press notes the game actually had to be restarted after the two teams played the first 16 seconds of the game going the wrong direction.
Once the officials straightened out which team should be shooting at which basket, the rest of the game could only get better, right? Well, not really.
Minnesota scored just 13 points in the first quarter, Philadelphia scored just nine in the second. Neither team shot 40 percent from the floor, and they combined for a total of 38 turnovers.
Combined, the teams didn’t reach 70 points in the first half. Still the Wolves held a 34-32 lead at the break. While things got better for Philadelphia in the second half, they didn’t for Minnesota, thus the 76ers left Target Center with their first victory of the season.
Minnesota shot just 36 percent from the floor and was 3-of-17 from behind the arc. The Wolves also had 19 turnovers in the game.
The Sixers matched Minnesota’s 19 turnovers and shot just 39 percent.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 20 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists to lead Philadelphia. Robert Covington added 17 and made three of Philadelphia’s five three-pointers.
Kj McDaniels and Luc Mbah A Moute added 12 for Philadelphia.
Thaddeus Young led the Wolves with 16 points against his former team, while Gorgui Dieng had a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Here is a sample of the reaction on Twitter.
After the #Twolves debacle, does team Pres. Flip Saunders have a talk w/ head coach Flip Saunders? Does it involve part-owner Flip Saunders?
— Keith Leventhal (@KeithLeventhal) December 4, 2014
Next up for the Wolves (4-12) are the Houston Rockets (13-4) on Friday night.
