After a terrible start to the season, the Timberwolves seem to have found themselves.
Andrew Wiggins scored 35 points and added 10 rebounds to lead the Wolves to a 110-86 win over the 76ers at home Thursday. Center Karl-Anthony Towns also had a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds, as did forward Gorgui Dieng (12 points, 10 rebounds).
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After starting the season 1-5, Minnesota has now won three of five games to move to 4-7. That's not anything to brag about, sure, but the Wolves are heating up on offense, averaging 107.9 points per game coming into Thursday, sixth-best in the NBA. And they're leading the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (.419).
Behind the three-headed-beast nucleus of Wiggins, who is averaging 26.6 points per game; Towns (22.0); and Zach LaVine (19.7), these Timberwolves are certainly better than how they looked to start the year. Now they're showing it.
Studs of the Night
James Harden notched his third triple-double of the season (26 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists) to lead the Rockets to a 126-109 win over the Trail Blazers. He now has 12 career triple-doubles. Only Hakeem Olajuwon (14) had more in his Rockets career.
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Every NBA team needs role players who can come off the bench and immediately contribute. Knicks guard Brandon Jennings fit that role Thursday, pouring in 17 points and adding 10 assists and five rebounds in 24 minutes against the Wizards.
Dud of the Night
Since scoring 23 points against the Pacers on Nov. 6, 76ers starting forward Robert Covington has been in a dreadful slump. He has made only 9 of 46 shots (19.5 percent) since. Covington went 1 for 11 from the field, missing all seven 3-point attempts, Thursday against the Timberwolves.
Highlight of the Night
For a 7-0 center, Karl-Anthony Towns has deceptive quickness and ball-handling skills. Results on this play: An embarrassed defender and a monster dunk.
Towns pumps once, pumps twice and TAKES FLIGHT! #NBAVine #PowerOfThePack https://t.co/UKaCpnsbbm
— NBA (@NBA) November 18, 2016
Looking ahead
Hawks (9-2) at Hornets (7-3), 7 p.m. ET — Despite being located only a couple hundred miles apart, these two franchises have never had much of a rivalry, mainly because they've rarely been good at the same time. But the rising Hornets are now a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference, thanks to point guard Kemba Walker, who is off to an MVP-caliber start (25.5 points, 5.5 assists per game). The Hawks are getting big contributions from veterans Paul Millsap (16.9 ppg) and Dwight Howard (14.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg).