76ers Vs Timberwolves — 76ers vs timberwolves: Maxey’s 39 snaps skid in 135-108 blowout
The Sixers beat the Timberwolves 135-108 in a night that saw Tyrese Maxey score 39 points and hand out eight assists, a result that snapped a losing streak. 76ers vs timberwolves framed the game from the opening minutes as Minnesota, missing Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid, fell by 27 points — the largest loss of the season for the Timberwolves.
Rookie start collapses early
With Rudy Gobert suspended for accruing too many flagrant fouls and Naz Reid out with shoulder soreness, Minnesota turned to Joan Beringer for his first career start. Beringer picked up two quick fouls just four minutes into the game and went to the bench for the remainder of the quarter. In the second quarter, after just a single minute on the court, the rookie picked up his third foul and was benched for the rest of the half. The lack of other front-court options on the active roster meant Beringer’s foul trouble threw a wrench into Minnesota’s rotations for the remainder of the game.
Rotation experiments failed
The Wolves tried mixing and matching different players to see what would stick, inserting Mike Conley, Jaylen Clark, and Terrence Shannor Jr. — each of whom had been out of the rotation in the last game — but none of the combinations worked. Lineups that had any sort of success included Anthony Edwards, though Minnesota “only lost Ant’s minutes by three points, but were outscored by 22 points in the 11 minutes Ant was on the bench before garbage time. ” Edwards finished the night with 28 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, and he turned the ball over seven times.
Edwards on turnovers and defense
Edwards addressed his turnovers after the loss: “Just unexpected coverages. Sometimes they would be in a drop, sometimes they would be in a high wall, and then when I go to pass it, they might hit the ball out of my hand. I lost the ball a couple times on the dribble. Just bad turnovers. ” He also took accountability for defensive lapses: “Most of them was me. A couple of them, they were three, four steps behind the line. I’m not thinking they even gonna shoot it. And they still shot it and they made it. That’s on me. I’ll take it. ”
Coach Finch on closeouts
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch cited poor closeouts as a major factor in the loss: “Just a lot of short close outs. We talked about the guys we needed to get up to take away their airspace, and then once they had seen enough go in, then they made tough ones, but just a lot of short close outs. We probably short-closed them out at least a half a dozen times, if not more, in the first half alone. ” Minnesota also gave up 17 second-chance points, and the Wolves clearly missed Gobert’s rim protection.
Sixers’ attack and Maxey’s night
Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 39 points and eight assists. He combined perimeter shotmaking and inside scoring; he was 2/5 from three in the game and had dialed-in midrange work, including a one-dribble two after an Andre Drummond offensive rebound was recycled into a potential corner three. Maxey shook off a 1/3 start and entered halftime sitting on 19 points and five assists. Nick Nurse ran more offense-heavy lineups, using a lot of three-guard looks and deploying Kelly Oubre at power forward to open the floor, which helped Maxey get downhill and score.
Supporting performers and momentum
The Sixers received big outings beyond Maxey. VJ Edgecombe set a new career high with six threes on the evening, and Andre Drummond worked the offensive glass early. Edgecombe attacked the rim after Drummond’s activity, and the Sixers repeatedly hammered the Wolves inside once Minnesota tried to play in switchable lineups with no true center. The win restored order for Philadelphia after a stretch in which the team had struggled: over the last five games they had “sat down on the court and quit” in matchups with the Blazers, Knicks, and Pelicans, but the effort level and execution were markedly better than the night prior against New Orleans. Cam Payne’s extra-effort plays included a sequence in which he nearly stole a pass and dove to dig a play out as he fell out of bounds, and the Sixers’ traps on Anthony Edwards later in the first half — hedging aggressively — produced a turnover or two. It echoed the idea that execution, the “how” of play, mattered as much as the scheme itself.
Randle, roster notes and fallout
Julius Randle finished with 18 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Finch mentioned that Randle was “under the weather pretty severely, ” though Randle had not appeared on the team’s injury report leading up to the game. The 27-point defeat at Target Center was Minnesota’s largest loss of the season, and the Wolves will have to cope with Gobert’s suspension and Reid’s shoulder soreness moving forward.
The 76ers’ 135-108 victory, powered by Maxey’s 39 and Edgecombe’s shooting, ended Philadelphia’s skid and left Minnesota searching for answers after a heavy defeat.
