The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped their third game in a row on Saturday night as they fell to the Washington Wizards by a score of 130-109.
The Timberwolves received some good luck before the opening tip as the Wizards announced Russell Westbrook would not play due to load management. That didn’t stop Washington from a white-hot start as they shot 57 percent from the floor while jumping out to a 37-25 lead in the first quarter.
The Wolves bounced back in the second quarter behind the performance of Naz Reid and D’Angelo Russell.
Huge block by Naz Reid sets up a D'Angelo Russell 3-pointer đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/mIDOwvuCe7
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) January 2, 2021
Reid put up 12 points and six rebounds for the game and Russell followed suit with 14 points to get the Wolves back into the game. With Malik Beasley adding 21 points, Minnesota went into the locker room down 60-57 at halftime.
BEAST-LEY. pic.twitter.com/PvUTPMUJv2
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) January 2, 2021
But while the Wolves didn’t have to deal with Westbrook, they had their issues with Bradley Beal. The Wizards star scored 31 points on the night and helped Washington race out to a 9-0 run to open the second half. The run was a sign of things to come as the Wizards outscored the Wolves 40-14 in the third quarter to effectively put the game away.
With all five Washington starters scoring in double figures, the Timberwolves’ loss was their third in as many games since Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a dislocated wrist. Minnesota will try to rebound on Sunday when they host the Denver Nuggets.
