NEW YORK — Following Sunday's disastrous loss to tanking Portland, the Timberwolves tried to do what they've done several times this season — rebound quickly from a debilitating loss.
They did it once again with a 107-102 win over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Karl-Anthony Towns hit a pair of free throws to break a 100-100 tie with one minute left, and guard Mike Conley forced a turnover by swiping the ball out of bounds off Dorian Finney-Smith. The game turned into a battle of free throws from there, with Conley offering Brooklyn a sliver of life by hitting just one of two for a 105-102 lead with 12.6 seconds remaining.
The Wolves then forced Spencer Dinwiddie, who had been carving them throughout the fourth, into two misses from 3-point range. Anthony Edwards capped it with two free throws for 23 points. Towns finished with 22. Dinwiddie had 30 for Brooklyn.
The Wolves led 31-24 after one quarter as their defense held Brooklyn to 29% shooting from the field, but that flipped in the second quarter when the Nets shot 11 for 19. The Wolves' offense led to transition for Brooklyn, and the Wolves' defense couldn't look any different in the halfcourt than it did in transition. The Nets finished the first half with 18 fast-break points. An 11-0 run gave them the lead, 54-51.
The Wolves fell behind as much as 11 in the third before they regathered themselves with an 18-6 run before a back-and-forth fourth quarter.
