Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 10 – NBA Blog

Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley and Bucks guard George Hill fined by NBA

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $20,000 and Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill has been fined $15,000 for their roles in an on-court altercation, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.

Following a free throw attempt, Minnesota’s Taurean Prince and Milwaukee’s Serge Ibaka became entangled while jockeying for rebounding position. Beverley entered and escalated the altercation by shoving Ibaka from behind. Hill then continued the altercation by shoving Beverley.

The incident, for which Beverley and Hill each received a technical foul and were ejected, occurred with 2:11 remaining in the first quarter of the Timberwolves’ 138-119 victory over the Bucks on March 19 at Target Center.

Timberwolves beat Bucks for 10th win in last 11 games

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the NBA’s hottest teams lately. Via the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The luck of the Timberwolves.

Not a phrase you might have heard much the past few years. But when it comes to being lucky and good, lately, the Wolves have been a bit of both.

Which brings us to Saturday’s game with Milwaukee at Target Center, when it was announced before the game that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was out with a sore right knee. Wolves coach Chris Finch talked about his team having to pivot after devoting a good 80% of its game plan to the the Milwaukee star.

They managed.

Going 22-for-47 on three pointers – nine players hit at least one – and leading from late in the first quarter on, and shooting better than 50%, the Wolves beat the Bucks 138-119. Minnesota (42-30) has now won four straight and 10 of 11.

It was a high-intensity game, one that featured a shoving match, matching technicals and ejections for Patrick Beverley and Milwaukee’s George Hill and, later, matching T’s on Naz Reid and Bobby Portis Jr.

The win keeps the Wolves 7th in the Western conference, far ahead of the 8th-place L.A. Clippers, and just half a game behind the 6th place Denver Nuggets.

Timberwolves beat Trail Blazers by 43 points

The Minnesota Timberwolves enjoyed a 43-point win tonight. Here’s the Star Tribune on it:

Two of the Timberwolves three best players, the injured Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, sat toward the end of the bench Monday night and never bothered to take off their coats.

They probably knew their team wasn’t going to have to sweat this one out. That was the case pretty much from the start as the Wolves downed a severely shorthanded Portland team 124-81.

The Trail Blazers, who were without many players including Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic, were already shorthanded when the teams met Saturday. Then they came into Monday without Anfernee Simons, who scored 38 on Saturday. The Wolves did what they should against a roster better suited for March Madness.

The Wolves didn’t even play particularly well. They shot just 8-for-22 as they built a 31-15 lead after the first quarter. That’s because Portland shot 5-for-25. They didn’t have to focus particularly well, and given their busy schedule of late they could use a night where they could just turn their brains off.

Karl-Anthony Towns made quick work of Portland with 27 points and 13 rebounds while Malik Beasley had 19 as the Wolves won their fifth straight game.

Full Article

On the state of the Minnesota Timberwolves

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press on the state of the Minnesota Timberwolves:

It is only natural to look at the Timberwolves’ next five games and think, “Well, there are five wins.”

They play Oklahoma City on Friday, followed by consecutive games against Portland and another game against the Thunder before facing Orlando.

Oklahoma City is 20-42, Orlando is 15-48 and Portland has lost three straight games, all by 30-plus points. It makes sense that a Timberwolves team that has beaten Golden State, Cleveland and Memphis since the all-star break would roll through those teams. But Wednesday served as a reminder that isn’t always the case.

Denver (36-26) is one of the teams Minnesota (34-29) is chasing in the Western Conference. The Nuggets have played very well of late. They were 15-point favorites Wednesday at home against the Thunder but lost by 12 on a night in which Denver’s starters were a combined 1-for-25 shooting from 3-point range.

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Update on mask mandates for Minnesota Timberwolves home games

The Minnesota Timberwolves released the below statement on the City of Minneapolis’ mask mandate:

Beginning with tonight’s game against Memphis, effective immediately, Timberwolves fans attending games at Target Center will not be required to wear a mask while inside the arena. This immediate action follows the City’s lifting of the mask mandate announced this morning.

Timberwolves sign guard Patrick Beverley to contract extension

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard Patrick Beverley to a contract extension.

Per the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “Beverley and the team agreed to a one-year extension Monday worth $13 million, his agent Kevin Bradbury confirmed. Beverley, 33, came to the Wolves in the final year of his current deal in a trade from Memphis over the summer. Since Beverley joined, his teammates and coaches have credited him with enhancing the culture on defense while providing leadership in the locker room.”

Beverley, 33, is enjoying a career year in 2021-22, his 10th in the NBA, averaging 9.2 points, his most since 2017-18 (12.2), 4.4 rebounds, a career-high 4.9 assists, a career-best 1.0 blocks and 1.2 steals in 39 games (35 starts). Originally acquired by the Wolves from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade on Aug. 25, 2021, he ranks sixth in the NBA in charges drawn this season (15).

He scored a season-high 20 points, connecting on a season-high 5-of-9 from beyond the arc during Minnesota’s 98-90 win on Jan. 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, his 12th career game with five or more three-pointers and his 10th career game registering 20+ points. Beverley has notched two double-doubles this season including tallying his fourth career point/assist double-double, with 11 points and a career-high-tying 12 assists in the Wolves’ 122-104 victory over the LA Clippers on Jan. 3.

For his career, the 6-1 guard has appeared in 507 regular season games (419 starts) with the Houston Rockets, Clippers and Timberwolves, averaging 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Beverley has seen action in 59 career playoff games (48 starts), including 17 games (seven starts) in last season’s playoffs and has averaged 7.9 points on 41.2% shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

The Chicago native is a three-time NBA All-Defensive team selection, including being named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2016-17, his final season with the Rockets. Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 42nd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Beverley spent three seasons overseas in Greece, Russia and Ukraine. He signed as a free agent with the Rockets ahead of the 2013 season and was traded to the Clippers on June 28, 2017.

Timberwolves will reportedly sign Patrick Beverley to a contract extension

The Timberwolves are reportedly signing guard Patrick Beverley to a contract extension. Via the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

The Timberwolves rewarded the veteran guard with a one-year, $13 million extension agreed to Monday, a source confirmed to the Pioneer Press.

The deal keeps Beverley, who was set to become a free-agent this summer, in Minnesota through the 2022-23 campaign. The extension number is just a tick below Beverley’s $14.3 million cap hit this season.

Timberwolves sign Greg Monroe to a 10-day contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed center Greg Monroe to a 10-day contract.

Monroe, 31, played in 12 games (one start) this season for the Capital City Go-Go, the G League affiliate of the Washington Wizards, averaging 10.4 points on 51.6% shooting and 8.8 rebounds per game.

The 6-10 center from Georgetown has played in 632 career games (417 starts) with the Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 13.2 points on 51.4% shooting and 8.3 rebounds. His best season in the NBA came during the 2012-13 season with the Pistons where he appeared in 81 games (all starts) and averaged career-highs in scoring (16.0 ppg), assists (3.5 apg), steals (1.3 spg) and minutes (33.2 mpg). In that same year, Monroe tallied his first of two career triple-doubles on Nov. 7, 2012 at Sacramento when he finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He has appeared in 27 playoff games (one start), posting averages of 6.4 points on 48.1% shooting and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Monroe will wear uniform #55.

Timberwolves sign Chris Silva and Rayjon Tucker to 10-day contracts

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Chris Silva and guard Rayjon Tucker to 10-day contracts.

Silva was originally signed to Minnesota’s training camp roster on September 20, 2021 where he saw action in one preseason matchup with the Timberwolves, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in 6:18 minutes of action. In 12 games with the Iowa Wolves, he is averaging 15.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He leads the Wolves in rebounds per game (9.6) and blocks per game (0.8).

Prior to his time with Minnesota and Iowa, he saw action in 15 total games during the 2020-21 season for the Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings where he averaged 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. During the 2019-20 season, the 6-8 forward split time between the Heat and the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League where he saw action in 44 games for Miami, averaging 3.0 points on 61.5% shooting and 2.9 rebounds.

Tucker has appeared in 13 games for the Wisconsin Herd this season, averaging 17.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 32.2 minutes per game.

Before his time with the Herd, he saw NBA action with the Utah Jazz and the Philadelphia 76ers. During the 2020-21 season in 14 games with the 76ers, he averaged 2.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists. In 20 games with the Utah Jazz during the 2019-20 season, he held averages of 3.1 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists.

Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns named NBA Players of the Week

Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week and Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Dec. 13-19.

It is the first time this season – and the fifth time in Tatum’s career – that he has received the conference’s weekly award.

Tatum produced a team-best 31.3 points on 50.0% shooting (36.1% 3-PT, 86.7% FT), 7.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 38.8 minutes over three home games – including two Boston wins – against Milwaukee, Golden State, and New York. He registered at least 25 points and 5+ rebounds in each of the three contests, including a season-high 42 points on 16-of-25 shooting (7-13 3-PT) in Boston’s 117-103 victory over the Bucks on Dec. 13.

In 30 games this season (all starts), Tatum has averaged 26.2 points (42.3% FG, 33.2% 3-PT, 81.9% FT), a career-high 8.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 36.5 minutes. He has tallied at least 20 points in all nine games played in the month of December, averaging 30.6 points on 48.7% shooting (36.6% 3-PT), 8.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists during that stretch.

This is the fifth time in his career that Towns has won the weekly award (Nov. 20, 2017, April 11, 2016, Mar. 13, 2017 and Oct. 28, 2019). Towns joins Kevin Garnett (15 times) as the only players in Timberwolves history to win the league’s weekly award five or more times.

Towns is the only player in the NBA this season to average 20+ ppg while shooting 50% or better from the field and 40% or better from three. Following the 3-0 week by the Timberwolves, he ranks 12th in the NBA in scoring (24.4 ppg) and tied for 17th in rebounds (9.0 rpg).

The 7-0 center has helped the Timberwolves climb back to .500 on the season, moving to 15-15 after Sunday night’s 111-105 win over the Dallas Mavericks, tied for the second-best 30-game start for the Wolves since 2006-07.

In the Dec. 15 124-107 victory at Denver, Towns scored 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting, while adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals, marking his seventh 30+ point game of the season and extending his franchise record to 85 career games with 30 or more points. With his three-pointer with 6:40 left in the third quarter against the Nuggets, Towns eclipsed 10,000 career points, joining Garnett as the only players in Timberwolves history to score 10,000+ points. He additionally became the first player from the 2015 draft class to notch 10,000 career points.

On Dec. 17 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Towns tallied his 12th 20+ point/10+ rebound game of the season (218th career), finishing with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Since he entered the league in 2015-16, no other player has registered more 20/10 games.

Towns finished the week on Dec. 19 against the Mavericks, leading the way for the Wolves with 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists, accounting for his 24th 20+ point game of the season (292nd career). He shot 11-of-13 from the charity stripe, marking a season-high for free throws made and was his third game of the season tallying 10+ free throws. The stat line also marked Towns’ seventh game of the season with 20+ points/5+ rebounds/5+ assists.