NBA regular season: No. 1 in the West!Timberwolves 3 people 20+ Rick Pistons, the Big Three combined to score 73 points
On January 18, Beijing time, the Timberwolves, the No. 1 player in the West in the NBA regular season, played away against the Pistons, who were at the bottom of the league, and Cunningham, the core of the Pistons, continued to be injured. The Timberwolves only led the remnants of the Pistons by 8 points in the first three quarters, but in the final quarter, the Timberwolves gradually expanded their double-digit advantage to lay the victory, and finally the Timberwolves defeated the Pistons 124-117 to win three consecutive victories, which also consolidated the first place in the West, and the Pistons continued to rank first in the league with 4 wins and 37 losses. The Timberwolves scored 20+ points and won by 3 players, Edwards had 27 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, Towns had 27 points, Gobert had 19 points and 16 rebounds, McDaniels had 23 points, and the Pistons had 5 players scoring double-doubles, including Ivey with 32 points and Bojan with 20 points.
The two sides met for the first time this season, with the Pistons missing core Cunningham and Morris also missing, and the Timberwolves missing Clark. The two teams started the offensive mode early in the first quarter, and the offensive efficiency of the two sides in the first quarter was extremely high, and the two sides took the lead one after another. The Timberwolves shot more than 6 percent of their 25-of-25 shooting in the first quarter, Edwards had 11 points and four assists on 4-of-7 shooting, Gobert had 12 points and four rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting, and Towns had eight points and three assists on 3-of-5 shooting. The Pistons were 16-of-24 from the field and more than six of them, and no player on the team scored in double figures, but nine players had already scored, and the Timberwolves trailed the Pistons by one point at 39-40 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Pistons' offensive efficiency plummeted, and they scored 22 points in the second quarter, 18 fewer than the 40 they scored in the first quarter. The Timberwolves scored 30+ points in two consecutive quarters, and the Timberwolves won by 9 points at 31-22 in the second quarter, and the Timberwolves overtook the Pistons by 8 points at 70-62 at the end of the first half. In the first two quarters, the Pistons scored three double-doubles, with Bojan scoring 12 points, Duren 10 points and 7 rebounds and Ivey 13 points and 4 assists. The Timberwolves have four players in double figures, Edwards has 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, Towns and Gobert both have 15 points, plus McDaniels 14 points.
The Timberwolves continued to suppress the Pistons offensively and defensively, and they gradually extended their double-digit lead in the third quarter, with the Timberwolves taking a 13-point lead at the most. The Pistons then launched a counterattack to chase the points, and the two sides tied the game at 28-28 in the third quarter, and the Timberwolves led the Pistons 98-90 at the end of the third quarter. In the first three quarters, Ivey had 22 points and 6 assists, leading the Pistons to score five double-doubles, the Timberwolves to score four double-doubles, Edwards to 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists and Towns to 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Gobert 17 points and 11 rebounds, and McDaniels 16 points.
In the final quarter, the Timberwolves took the lead in an 11-2 offensive run and extended a 17-point lead at 109-92. The Pistons responded with an 8-0 offensive run to chase down the deficit by nine points, and Gobert and McDaniels scored back-to-back inside points to lead the Timberwolves to reextend their advantage. The Pistons then continued to fight back to a single-digit margin, with Towns hitting a three-pointer and Edwards hitting a layup to cement a 123-109 lead with 2:13 left. The Timberwolves then blocked the Pistons to chase the score, and the Pistons were unable to turn the tables, and finally the Timberwolves defeated the Pistons to consolidate the first place in the West.
(Text/Drunken Sleeping)