Takeaways: Timberwolves pull away in fourth quarter against winless Nets

NEW YORK – Jaden McDaniels didn’t pick up right away how unique the lineup was around him on the floor for part of the fourth quarter Monday night.

“I didn’t even notice until we were at the free-throw line,” McDaniels said. I looked and Naz [Reid] was in, Julius [Randle] and Rudy [Gobert] were in."

The Wolves broke open their 125-109 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in the fourth quarter thanks to a big lineup that featured Reid, Gobert and Randle on the floor together at the same time. Offensively, the group worked thanks in part to Reid’s ability to space the floor. On defense, the Wolves switched to a zone that ended any hope of the Nets (0-7) getting their first win of the season.

The lineup also benefited its fifth member, Donte DiVincenzo, who played through a broken nose to score 25 points. Randle had his first regular-season triple-double with the Wolves with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

“Sometimes, it’s just about getting your best players on the floor and what you need to do at that point in time,” coach Chris Finch said. “I was pretty confident that’s where I was going to go in the middle of the fourth. ... Guys really delivered. It’s a luxury when you have a guy like Julius, who can kind of slide over, basically play the point for you.”

BOXSCORE: Wolves 125, Brooklyn 109

NBA standings

“Defensively, it’s a really good lineup,” Divincenzo said. “Offensively, it’s a unique lineup because I think Jaden is an amazing initiator. You can’t really pressure him because he’s so long and athletic. He’ll go right by you. And then just the spacing and the movement with that lineup, it just gives us something different to play with throughout the season.”

The Wolves were ahead 91-88 entering the fourth, but they blitzed the Nets 34-21 to close the night.

Cam Thomas had 25 points for the Nets, 19 coming in the first half.

Multiple times last season, Randle flirted with a triple-double in the regular season without ever getting there. He had one game with 10 assists all last regular season but had seven rebounds in that one. In the three games in which he had nine assists, he had 10 rebounds or more. He did record a triple-double (24 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) in Game 3 of the second-round playoff series against Golden State.

Randle was stuck on nine assists for most of the second half, and it felt like one of those regular-season games.

One of Randle’s final plays of the night got that elusive 10th assist. He found Reid for a corner three with just more than three minutes to play, and shortly after that, Finch emptied his bench.

“Those are always fun,” Randle said. “It’s a credit to my teammates, making shots. Can’t do it if they don’t make shots. They made shots. They were in the right places, made it easy for me, and I was able to make it happen.”

The Wolves weren’t quite ready to play from the tip. They had six turnovers in the first six minutes of the game, with Gobert accounting for three.

The Wolves have had issues in past seasons playing down to the level of their competition, and Monday showed that might still be an issue. They also couldn’t play defense without fouling early on, and they committed nine fouls in the first quarter. The Nets attempted 15 free throws but hit only eight of them.

DiVincenzo became the latest Wolves player to sport a face mask after he suffered a broken nose in Saturday’s win at Charlotte. Rob Dillingham recently had to play with one for a few games after fracturing his nose against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second game of the season. Rookie Rocco Zikarsky also broke his nose in the preseason.