Karl Anthony Towns put up 28 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 119-100 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Twelve of KAT’s points came in the first quarter, where he hit two threes. He rounded out his performance with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Every Timberwolves starter put up double-digit plus-minus numbers, with three being plus-30 or more. They had the Pistons reeling from the tip, as the score differential never came within 10 outside of the first quarter.
The Timberwolves forced the Pistons to commit 28 turnovers. They also held the team to 25 points or under for 3 of the 4 quarters.
The No.1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Anthony Edwards, notched 22 points on 7-16 shooting. However, he still sits in second place on the rookie-made threes leaderboard. First on that list is Saddiq Bey, who hit 5 threes in the game and totaled 21 points. Bey scored 13 of his points in the third quarter.
Pistons Youth
A hefty list of inactives for the Pistons again allowed them to play their young players for extended minutes. Fellow 1st-round draft picks Killian Hayes, and Isaiah Stewart joined Bey as the only Pistons to play more than 30 minutes in the game.
Steward finished with 11 points and Stewart with 13. Second-round pick Saben Lee had a phenomenal fourth quarter that left him with a team-high 22 points to go along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Hayes finished with 7 assists, his 13th straight game with 5 or more assists. That earns him 4th in the league among players with such games. Stewart grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.
Turnover Trouble
The main problem for the Pistons was turnovers. They turned the ball over 28 times, almost doubling the Timberwolves’ 15.
Josh Jackson committed 9 of those turnovers as he worked his way back into the lineup following a dental issue that caused him to miss the last 4 games.
The problem was not isolated to Jackson, however, as 7 other Pistons each recorded a turnover in the game. Interestingly enough, the Pistons still managed to score 19 more points off of turnovers than the Timberwolves did, 34-15.
Up Next
Tank Season is in full swing, and the Pistons are primed to have a top 3 pick in this year’s draft. They have only 2 games remaining, against the Nuggets and the Heat, both in Detroit. The first will be against the Nuggets at 8 p.m. on Friday.
The Timberwolves have 3 games remaining in their season, all at home. They will have the Nuggets before the Pistons do, at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
