National Basketball Association

Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves destroy Hornets in preseason finale

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Timberwolves finished preseason with a huge win over the Charlotte Hornets at Target Center on Friday night.

The Wolves finished preseason play with a 5-2 record, and one of their losses came on the road in Oklahoma City when six of the top seven players in the rotation didn’t play.

On the heels of an easy victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, the Wolves led by 40+ points again on Friday before ultimately settling for a 109-74 win in downtown Minneapolis.

The game was out of hand by the second quarter, and the Timberwolves built a 61-44 lead by halftime through their tough, trapping defense, solid transition play, and a newfound weapon: three-point shooting.

Karl-Anthony Towns put up crazy numbers in limited minutes once again. This time around, 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in just 15 minutes of play, largely due to foul trouble. Towns drew his fifth foul early in the third quarter but never returned as the game stayed far out of reach.

Towns’ foul trouble gave Tom Thibodeau an excuse to try a few different lineups, and Nemanja Bejelica scored 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-5 3P) with four rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 26 minutes. Shabazz Muhammad also played well off the bench, dropping an efficient 17 points in 19 minutes.

The Wolves built their lead to 40 points during the third quarter but a sloppy fourth quarter once again caused the margin to dip just a bit, much to the chagrin of the ever-demanding Coach Thibs.

Star of the Night

Brandon Rush: 14 points (5-9 FG, 4-4 3P), 4 rebounds, one steal, one turnover

Rush started in place of Andrew Wiggins, who remained out in order to recover from an allergic reaction from earlier in the week. The veteran wing played a team-high 31 minutes and was perfect from beyond the arc.

But it wasn’t just the long-range shooting, it was also the savvy and team play, both in transition and in the half court. Rush made the extra pass more than once and converted an impressive layup after a smart cut to the rim.

Rush’s 16-20 minutes off the bench will be invaluable to the Timberwolves this season — mark it down.

Tweet of the Night

???? Karl-Anthony Towns was a man on a mission. https://t.co/aQ5IiiHZIx

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 22, 2016

Notable Lines

Who’s Next?

The regular season opener takes place in Memphis next Wednesday evening at 7:00. We’ll have a preview early in the day and a recap after the game. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned as we continue to ramp up coverage with the opener in our sights…