Julius Randle totaled 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on Wednesday, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves hold off the Washington Wizards for a 120-109 victory in Minneapolis.
Naz Reid scored 23 of his 28 points off the bench in the first half, while Anthony Edwards had 18 points for Minnesota, which has won eight of its last 10. Donte DiVincenzo added 12 points and Mike Conley scored 10 for the Timberwolves, who led by as many as 27 before Washington cut its deficit to five in the fourth quarter. Rudy Gobert had nine points and 15 boards.
Kyshawn George had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Washington, who dropped its 12th straight. CJ McCollum chipped in 14 points, while Marvin Bagley III added 13 points and seven rebounds. Khris Middleton, Bilal Coulibaly and Cam Whitmore each scored 13 and Tre Johnson poured in 10.
Trailing by 25 at halftime, Washington cut into the deficit with a 10-2 run to start the third, as Bagley’s dunk forced a Minnesota timeout with 9:44 remaining. Gobert’s basket ended the run before McCollum’s mid-range jumper and triple stamped a 7-0 Wizards spurt.
Washington trimmed the margin to 78-67 before Gobert’s layup started a 5-0 run to give Minnesota a 16-point lead.
George’s jumper as time expired cut the Timberwolves’ lead to 12 entering the fourth.
The Wizards began the final quarter on an 11-4 run, slicing Minnesota’s advantage to five at the 7:06 mark.
With a chance to pull within one possession for the first time since the first quarter, George missed a pair of free throws with 3:52 left before Conley’s subsequent 3-pointer gave Minnesota a 109-101 lead.
DiVincenzo’s triple with 1:29 remaining put the Timberwolves ahead by 10, sealing the win.
Tristan Vukcevic’s 3-pointer gave Washington a 24-23 lead before Minnesota’s 11-3 spurt put the hosts ahead by seven with 55 seconds left in the opening quarter. Vukcevic’s first-quarter buzzer-beating layup trimmed the visitors’ deficit to 34-29.
From there, Reid scored 12 of Minnesota’s 16-0 run, taking a 50-29 lead with 6:14 left in the first half. Washington didn’t score its first points of the second quarter until McCollum’s layup cut the Wizards’ deficit to 19 at the 6:05 mark.
Another McCollum basket pulled Washington within 17, before Minnesota’s advantage ballooned to 27 on Reid’s fourth 3-pointer of the first half.
