MINNEAPOLIS _ After Thursday's morning shootaround, Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau was asked if he was going to change things up, figure out a way to get his team out of that third-quarter rut.
There were suggestions. Maybe the team should re-do the pregame intros to start the second half, fool the players into thinking the game was starting again.
Thibodeau smiled. Tricks won't do it. Work would.
"It's all about improving, every day," he said. Still, the question. How would the Wolves respond after blowing yet another bit first half lead with a third quarter slump Tuesday?
The answer: With a nearly wire-to-wire 110-86 victory over Philadelphia at Target Center in front of a national TV audience and 16,866 fans. The Wolves led by nine after the first quarter, by 28 at the half. This time the third quarter, while not prolific, was effective, with the Wolves leading by 27 entering the fourth.
The final score was closer than the game appeared.
Minnesota (4-7) started strong, building a nine-point lead after the first quarter. Then, in an explosive 34-15 second quarter, the Wolves couldn't miss and the 76ers couldn't shoot straight. Minnesota started the quarter on an 8-0 run and never really paused, growing the lead to 61-44 on Andrew Wiggins' 3-pointer at the end of the half against a 76ers team shooting barely 31 percent.
Of course, at that point everyone was wondering: What about the third quarter?
Rest easy. True, the Wolves had seen double-digit leads evaporate too often this season. But the Wolves have yet to blow a halftime lead of 20 or more points.
And, for the fourth time in four wins, they didn't again Thursday.
Wiggins continued his recent scorching stretch. He was remarkably hot, scoring 35 points with 10 rebounds on 14-for-20 shooting. He, alone, out-scored the 76ers starters. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 points with 10 rebounds. Gorgui Dieng had 12 points and Zach LaVine had 11.
The 76ers were led by Dario Sacic's 16 points. Nik Stauskas had 13.
The first quarter followed the team's recent script, calling for a quick start. The Wolves came out of the gate shooting 57.1 percent over the first 12 minutes, getting eight points from both Wiggins and Towns while holding the 76ers to 31.8 percent shoot. The result was a nine-point lead entering the second quarter.
And that was only the start. The Wolves stayed hot. Especially Wiggins, who scored 11 points in the second quarter; both he and Towns played 7 { minutes in the quarter and both were a plus-20. With the 76ers missing shot after shot the Wolves scored eight points off turnovers, 12 points in the paint in the second, with Wiggins shot at the end of the half pushing the lead to 28 points.
And this time it all held up. So much so that Thibodeau was able to empty his bench down the stretch.
The Wolves' defense was strong most of the night. Philadelphia shot 37.3 percent and hit on just nine of 32 3-pointers and were out-rebounded by the Wolves 49-40.
The victory evened the Wolves record at 2-2 on the just-concluded four-game homestand. Philadelphia, which won against Washington Wednesday night, is still looking for its first winning streak since March of 2015.
