Phoenix Suns 87
Minnesota Timberwolves 117
(Editor’s note: Really minor “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” reference in the first sentence – so if you haven’t seen the movie yet and want absolutely nothing mentioned, skip ahead to the three things section.)
The Timberwolves looked like that giant Starkiller base from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Sunday: They swallowed up the Suns.
1) Win No. 1 in 2016
With the 30-point victory, the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up their first win of 2016. They’d lost nine straight, and 13 of their last 14, dating back to last year. It’s Minnesota’s largest margin of victory all season.
2) Rubio puts the ball in the hoop
Ricky Rubio led the way on offense, scoring 18 points (tied with Andrew Wiggins for the team-high) on 6-for-11 shooting, including hitting two of his five 3-point attempts. It’s the highest point total for him this season since the opening victory against Los Angeles (where Rubio put up 28 points), according to Alan Horton.
Wiggins got his 18 points on 13 shots, and check out his shot chart – nearly all of it came at the basket.
3) Every single Timberwolf scored … except KG
That’s right, every single active player for the Timberwolves Sunday scored at least one point, except Kevin Garnett (who went 0-for-2 in 15 minutes).
The bench had four players in double-digits: Gorgui Dieng (15), Shabazz Muhammad (11), Zach LaVine (11), and Kevin Martin (11). They outscored the Sun’s bench 61-27.
Tweet of the game
This alley-oop …
Andre Miller alley-oop to @ZachLavine! @Timberwolves up big on @fsnorth | @FOXSportsLive #The1? #Twolves https://t.co/Pr9fE8LVlc
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) January 17, 2016
This one is also fun.
A shirtless fan gets booed when he's put on the Jumbotron with 2 signs – a "Go Suns" one & one reading it's 73 degrees in PHX. #SunsAtWolves
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) January 17, 2016
Up next
Minnesota (12-29) is at the New Orleans Pelicans (13-26) Tuesday night, a 7 p.m. CST tip.
