WASHINGTON – Back-to-backs haven’t appeared to bother the Timberwolves much this season. Which is good for them, because they’ll be seeing plenty more this month.
Anthony Edwards scored 35 points despite sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Wolves completed a season sweep of the Washington Wizards with a 141-115 rout on Jan. 4.
Julius Randle scored 22 points for the Wolves, and Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 14 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season, helping his team outscore Washington 76-48 in the paint and complete a 3-1 road trip.
Coming a day after a victory in Miami, the Wolves are now 3-2 on the tail end of back-to-backs after going 5-0 on the front end. The two losses both came at home to Denver in the opening weeks of the season.
The Wolves didn’t play a single back-to-back in December, but they have four in January and another in early February. Their next set comes next weekend, as they play at Cleveland on Saturday, Jan. 10, and at home against San Antonio on Sunday, Jan. 11.
The Wolves, who return home to face the Heat on Jan. 6, had their third 140-plus-point game of the season, while the Wizards allowed 140-plus for the fourth time.
The Wolves did not trail after the first five minutes thanks to a strong start from Edwards. He scored 16 points in the first quarter — his most in the opening period this season — as the Wolves built a 38-28 lead after one period.
Washington had nine turnovers in the first half and forced just one. Minnesota scored 12 points off turnovers en route to a 73-58 halftime lead and had a 26-13 scoring edge off turnovers for the game.
