Edwards scores 29, Towns adds 28 as Wolves pull away for win over Nets
MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, punctuated by a dunk in the final minute, as the Minnesota Timberwolves took sole possession of first place in the Western Conference with a 101-86 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 points for Minnesota, which bounced back from a loss Friday to Milwaukee. The Timberwolves are now 5-2 this season on the second night of back-to-backs.
Cam Thomas led Brooklyn with 18 points. Nets leading scorer Mikal Bridges, who entered Saturday averaging 21.7 points per game, added 15 points.
The win puts the Timberwolves a half-game ahead of idle Oklahoma City in the conference.
The Nets fell to 0-2 under interim head coach Kevin Ollie. Ollie took over for Jacques Vaughn, who was fired during the All-Star break.
Things got chippy with 22.5 seconds remaining and the game already out of hand. Dennis Schroder made contact with Mike Conley after Conley hit a 3-pointer, causing Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels to shove Schroder. The play resulted in four offsetting technical fouls, two for each team.
Both teams struggled from the floor. Minnesota shot 43% from and 31.6% from deep. Brooklyn shot 34% and was just 6 of 35 from 3-point range.
The Timberwolves were without center Rudy Gobert, who missed Saturday's game with a sprained left ankle. Gobert suffered the injury in the third quarter of Friday's loss to Milwaukee. Saturday was just the second game he's missed this season.
Without Gobert, Minnesota struggled on the boards. Brooklyn outrebounded the Wolves 56-51.
Minnesota's Naz Reid landed awkwardly in the second quarter, colliding with the basket and hitting his leg midway through the second quarter. He walked to the locker room under his own power and eventually returned to the game in the middle of the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Nets: At Memphis on Monday night.
Timberwolves: Host San Antonio on Tuesday night.