Timberwolves blast Pistons as 7 get ejected in shove-fest
Julius Randle scored 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting, and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied for a 123-104 win over the Detroit Pistons in a game that featured a physical fracas on Sunday night (Monday, March 31, Manila time) in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards added 25 points for Minnesota (43-32), which won its second game in a row. Rudy Gobert posted 19 points and a season-high 25 rebounds.
Malik Beasley scored 27 points to lead Detroit (42-33). Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 20 points, and Jalen Duren notched 13 points and 11 boards.
The game was marred by a skirmish in the second quarter that led to seven ejections.
The sequence started when Pistons guard Ron Holland II fouled Timberwolves forward Naz Reid on a layup attempt. Reid took exception to the foul and shook his finger in Holland’s face.
A melee ensued after Donte DiVincenzo came to support Reid and Holland shoved him. DiVincenzo grabbed Holland and yanked him to the ground, and within moments a large crowd of players and coaches formed beyond the baseline as both teams continued grabbing and shoving.
Reid, DiVincenzo and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni were ejected for the Timberwolves. Holland, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff were ejected for the Pistons.
Detroit led 60-54 at the half as tensions remained high.
The score was even at 69-all until Randle drained a 3-pointer off an assist from Edwards with 7:49 remaining in the third quarter. The Timberwolves maintained momentum and built their lead to 10 points when Edwards knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 89-79 with 2:21 left in the session.
The Timberwolves posted a 38-23 advantage in the third quarter to seize a 92-83 lead.
Minnesota outscored Detroit 31-21 in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
The Pistons pulled within 96-90 when Ausar Thompson made a basket with 8:11 to play.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to push Minnesota’s lead to 12 points with 7:02 remaining.
The rout continued as Conley made another 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves a 20-point lead with 3:37 left. Randle made a dunk 31 seconds later to push the lead to 116-94.
The Pistons’ leading scorer, Cade Cunningham, missed his fourth straight game with a calf injury. – Rappler.com