MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Andrew Wiggins is making an impact all over the floor, from the arc to the rim, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are playing with a carefree connectedness that has helped elevate their overall performance.
These developments are not mutually exclusive.
Wiggins kept up his early season surge with 30 points on 12-for-23 shooting, and the Timberwolves handed the San Antonio Spurs their third straight loss, 129-114 on Wednesday night.
“Hey, if you haven’t watched us much, these guys are fun to be around,” coach Ryan Saunders said.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, giving Minnesota’s maximum-contract duo a third consecutive game with 25-plus points apiece. Towns and Wiggins are currently the only teammates in the NBA averaging more than 25 points per game.
Wiggins, who added eight rebounds and seven rebounds, drained a pull-up 3-pointer from the left wing in the waning seconds of the third quarter to give the Wolves their biggest lead of the night at 106-95 before they breezed through the final 12 minutes. Wiggins, who has shown a sharp improvement in shot selection under Saunders, received a standing ovation when he was removed late in the game.
“I feel like everybody is happy for each other,” Wiggins said. “When someone does good, there’s genuine love.”
DeMar DeRozan had 27 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 points for San Antonio, with the two stars combining to shoot 22 for 34 from the floor, but the Spurs finished just 3 for 17 from 3-point range. The Wolves were 11 for 34, a behind-the-arc advantage they rarely enjoyed in recent seasons.
Though they went just 6 for 45 on Sunday in an overtime defeat against Denver and this game ranked third-worst in the league at 30.8%, the increased volume can only help. The Wolves went 15 for 34 from 3-point range at Detroit in their previous game, a season best.
“I think opponents see our organization a little differently. They’ve been so used to us taking mid-ranges and layups and whatever the case may be, that we never adjusted to what the game has changed to,” Towns said. “Not only have we now changed to what the modern NBA is, we are excelling at it tremendously well and being pioneers of excellence with it.”
Towns and Wiggins have 35 games with 25-plus points apiece, the fourth-most in the NBA since Towns was a rookie in 2015-16. Wiggins hit the 30-point mark for the fourth time in five games.
“They executed, they were unselfish, and they made 3s,” said a dismayed Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who took no questions from reporters. “They had a lot of guys that played well, and they were aggressive. From our end, I think we were very challenged defensively, another poor outing.”
UP NEXT
Spurs: Play at Orlando on Friday night. They have a 43-18 lead in the all-time series with the Magic.
Timberwolves: Host Washington on Friday night, then Houston on Saturday night to conclude a stretch with five home games, and six total, in eight days.
