If you turned on the Timberwolves – Lakers game towards the end of the first quarter last night, you might have thought there was a mistake. Did Minnesota really have 42 points with two minutes left in the first quarter? Yup. The ‘Wolves set a franchise record for points in a quarter and Ricky Rubio recorded a triple-double during their blowout of the Lakers.
Rubio finished with a Jason Kidd triple-double, as we like to think of them. He had 12 points (2-for-2 from three), 14 assists and 10 boards during the victory.
Kevin Martin led the ‘Wolves in scoring with 27 points on 11-for-23 shooting. Kevin Love continued his masterful 2013-14 season so far with 25 points, 14 rebounds and another of his Wes Unseld outlet passes:
Martin and Love combined to score 35 points in the first quarter alone, going a combined 12-for-14 from the field and 6-for-7 from three-point range. It was a scoring bonanza for the Rick Adelman-led ‘Wolves in the opening 12 minutes; when it was all over, the Timberwolves had put up 47 points in the first period, the most in team history.
Aside from getting blown out by the ‘Wolves at home, there was more bad news for the Lakers. Steve Nash left with back pain and isn’t sure when he’ll return, as he told PBT’s Kurt Helin:
“Mike took me out (early in the second quarter), I should have come out in the first quarter,” Nash said. “Today was a bad day on the way to the game, so it was just a struggle today.”
“I’m concerned,” Mike D’Antoni said. “He was struggling physically tonight, you could just see it on his face and that’s why I took him out.”
But enough about the Lakers, who are just waiting on Kobe’s return. The ‘Wolves have started 5-2 and as Tom Ziller wrote in today’s SB Nation Hook, they’re finally healthy and ready to make the playoffs for the first time in Love’s NBA career.
If you didn’t know — and Rick Adelman didn’t — the ‘Wolves hadn’t beaten the Lakers since Kevin Garnett was in Minneapolis, and they hadn’t won in the Staples Center since March 31, 2005.
Things are looking up in Minney.
What do you think?
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