Game Recap: 76ers Vs Timberwolves — 76ers vs timberwolves 135-108

The 76ers vs timberwolves matchup on Sunday ended in a 135-108 win for Philadelphia, a victory the Sixers badly needed on the second night of a back-to-back. Joel Embiid missed his fifth straight game due to right knee injury management and right shin soreness, and Tyrese Maxey willed Philadelphia to the result with a 39-point, 16-for-28 performance that included 4-for-7 from three and eight assists.

Nurse on Maxey's night

Coach Nick Nurse praised Maxey’s aggressiveness and speed after the game. "I just thought he was so assertive tonight in the standpoint of he was seeing a lot of similar stuff he's been seeing, " Nurse said. "But he was just attacking what they were doing immediately, instead of sometimes maybe tail when they’ve switched and doubling and analyze, he just kept trying to make them keep up with his speed. "

76ers Vs Timberwolves adjustments

Philadelphia adjusted to free up Maxey by having Andre Drummond, Dominick Barlow, and Adem Bona set higher screens near half court to give him more space to take off, use his speed and quickness, and get into the paint more often than not. "Guys did a good job, " Nurse continued. "I thought we were screening really high out on the floor, which gave him a lot more space to play in, and he kept finding creases to get really good shots up tonight. "

Why the Wolves were undermanned

Minnesota was without Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. Gobert was suspended for accruing too many flagrant fouls, and Naz Reid was out with shoulder soreness. The absence of Gobert’s rim defense and Reid’s front-court presence left the Timberwolves thin in the paint and contributed to the rout at Target Center.

Beringer's first start, quick foul trouble

With limited front-court options on the active roster, Minnesota turned to Joan Beringer for his first career start to fill out the starting lineup. Beringer picked up two quick fouls just four minutes into the game and went to the bench for the remainder of the quarter. His second-quarter stint lasted a single minute before he picked up his third foul and was on the bench for the rest of the half, a sequence that threw a wrench into the Wolves' rotations for the remainder of the game.

Edwards, rotations and turnovers

The Wolves experimented with lineups and brought in players who had been out of the rotation in the previous game, including Mike Conley, Jaylen Clark, and Terrence Shannor Jr., but the mixes did not work. Lineups that had any success included Anthony Edwards. Minnesota only lost Ant’s minutes by three points, but they were outscored by 22 points in the 11 minutes Edwards was on the bench before garbage time. Edwards finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and three assists, but he turned the ball over seven times.

Edwards addressed those turnovers bluntly: "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 accepted responsibility 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. "

Defensive breakdowns and other injuries

Minnesota not only missed Gobert’s defense near the rim; they had poor closeouts on shooters most of the game and gave up 17 second-chance points. Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch explained the defensive issues plainly: "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. "

Maxey outduels Edwards; Randle struggles

Tyrese Maxey was superb the entire game, outdueling his fellow All-Star Anthony Edwards with 39 points and eight assists. Julius Randle had a difficult night, scoring 18 points while finishing with just three rebounds and three assists. Finch noted that Randle was "under the weather pretty severely, " despite Randle not showing up on the team's injury report leading up to the game.

The 27-point margin was Minnesota’s largest loss of the season. The Sixers will finish their 3-game road trip on Tuesday when they take on the Indiana Pacers.

Box score highlights: 76ers 135, Timberwolves 108; Maxey 39 points, 16-for-28 shooting, 4-for-7 from three, eight assists; Edwards 28 points, nine rebounds, three assists, seven turnovers; Randle 18 points, three rebounds, three assists; Gobert suspended; Naz Reid shoulder soreness; Joan Beringer made first career start but fouled out of minutes early with three fouls in the first half.