MINNEAPOLIS _ The Timberwolves had a couple things going for them Saturday night against the Brooklyn Nets at Target Center:
Recent history and the return of Jimmy Butler.
Butler came back after missing four games with a sore right knee. In those four games it had become even clearer how important he is to the team, particularly on defense.
Minnesota also entered the game having lost two straight games, both on the road. But they had not _ (and still haven't) _ had a three-game losing streak this season.
The final: Wolves 111, Brooklyn 97.
The Wolves (32-20) are now 10-0 in their last 10 home games, and 6-0 when playing on the heels of a two-game losing streak.
Up by as many as 26 points early in the second quarter, the Wolves never trailed again, though the Nets (18-32) pushed back a few times
In his first game back, Butler was a bit rusty with his shot (4 for 14), but he scored 21 points with six rebounds and four assists. Andrew Wiggins scored 21. Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 18 rebounds. And both Tyus Jones (13) and Jamal Crawford (16) scored in double figures off the bench.
Brooklyn was led by reserves Jahlil Okafor (21 points) and Nik Stauskas (15).
With 5:55 left and the Wolves up 15, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson had to be restrained from going after the refs, got called for two technical and was tossed from the game.
The game was tied 8-8 early, when the Wolves used balance and a good bit of thievery to finish the first quarter on a 22-3 run, taking a 19-point lead into the second.
Butler, Wiggins and Jamal Crawford all had six points in the quarter, during which the Wolves got nine of their 30 points from the line.
Meanwhile, the Wolves feasted on nine first-quarter Nets turnovers.
It started, at 8-8, with a 12-0 run in which Butler scored five and Wiggins two. The Nets scored three straight. But the Wolves reserves took over from there, with Crawford scoring six points in a 10-0 run to end the quarter. The Nets' 11 first-quarter points was a season low by a Wolves opponent.
The run became 17-0 when the Wolves scored the first seven points of the second quarter, with Crawford scoring five.
That gave the Wolves a 26-point lead just moments into the quarter, thanks to a 29-3 run that put Minnesota up 37-11 with 10:19 left in the half.
Brooklyn outscored the Wolves 31-17 over the rest of the half.
The Nets kept chipping away over the first 4 minutes of the third quarter, ultimately pulling within 58-53 on Spencer Dinwiddie's basket with 7:59 left in the quarter.
Then Towns and Wiggins took over. Towns had eight points _ four on put-backs _ and Wiggins six in a 14-2 run that pushed the lead back to 72-55 on Wiggins' 9-footer with 3:45 left in the quarter. The lead stood at 13 _ 78-65 _ entering the fourth.
