The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to be hit hard by the omicron variant but with eight players in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols, some new faces stepped up and led a 108-103 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The win had some familiar names as Jaden McDaniels scored 17 points and Malik Beasley added 13 points. But fans may not know who some of these new heroes are. Thankfully, we have you covered.
Nathan Knight
With Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined by COVID, the Timberwolves were going to need some help in the paint. Making his first career start, Knight took advantage of the opportunity.
He scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. The William & Mary product had a tremendous night and highlighted it with a fast break slam in the third quarter.
NATE.
KNIGHT. pic.twitter.com/P7YqbSgOtw— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) December 28, 2021
Greg Monroe
With the number of players landing in the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols, there will be some faces that are here today and gone tomorrow. Monroe could be one of those players, signing a 10-day contract with the Timberwolves on Sunday.
Monroe’s Timberwolves debut was a strong one, putting up 11 points to go with nine rebounds. The seventh overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft added some size of his own and helped the Timberwolves outscore Boston in the paint 50-26.
welcome to the 🐺 @M10OSE pic.twitter.com/AJvPLS2FrU
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 28, 2021
Jaylen Nowell
Diehards will know Nowell’s name from the past two seasons but he was another Timberwolf who made the most coming off the bench.
While Knight provided the muscle in the paint, Nowell went off on the perimeter, dropping a career-high 29 points. His night was fueled by going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc and provided a highlight slam of his own, throwing down over Celtics forward Jabari Parker.
JAYLEN NOWELL SLAMMED IT ON THAT MAN'S HEAD pic.twitter.com/c97seVjQjN
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 28, 2021
PUT SOME RESPECT ON HIS NAME @JaylenNowell pic.twitter.com/WXUQvcfLHH
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 28, 2021
Hopefully, the Timberwolves will be back at full strength soon. But until then, it appears that they’ve found some depth at the end of their bench.
