Game Story
The Washington Wizards entered the evening as winners in four of their last five games. Yet, they still remained as one of four teams in the National Basketball Association with single-digit wins (nine) on the season, and the second worst point differential (-10.5).
Minnesota Timberwolves fans were rightfully queasy prior to tipoff.
The Wolves had recently been publicly embarrassed by two sub-.500 teams by double-digits. Sure, they alternated those with convincing double-digit triumphs, but this game
certainly had the feel of another trap situation. Especially when there was the convenient excuse that Minnesota was on the end of a long four-game road trip, and on the tail end of a road-road, back-to-back.
Queasy.
Anthony Edwards surely wasn’t feeling that. Fresh off two straight 30-point outings, the 24-year-old came out of the blocks on fire. He went right at the league-leader in blocks per game (2.4), Alex Sarr, to score a tough layup, then pointed right at the big man. Sarr responded shortly afterwards with a transition dunk with Edwards in the vincinity, pointing back at him. Edwards had a response.
Edwards exploded for 16 of his 35 points in the first quarter, taking no prisoners along the way. The rest of his teammates followed his lead. Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, and even the bench got going in the first period, ending with a double-digit lead.
Randle helped steer the ship with Edwards on his usual break, steadily building up their advantage. He put Marvin Bagley III in jail, forcing him into four personal fouls in just seven minutes. He was plowing through defenders while also getting teammates involved, looking like the early season Randle Wolves fans have sorely missed.
Despite the early dominance by Edwards and Randle, it was Rudy Gobert who was the most unstoppable force.
You could create a minutes long highlight tape of his work in the second quarter. A spot on behind-the-back pass. Alley-oop dunks. Tough finishes in traffic. Blocked three point shots. In the second period alone, Gobert put up 12 points, four offensive rebounds, a block, all on five of seven shooting from the field. He continued that dominance well into the second half as well, constantly owning the paint.
Gobert finished the night with 18 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, on eight of 10 shooting.
If anyone felt queasy tonight, it was Wizards Head Coach Brian Keefe. The compete factor from Washington was laughably nonexistent in the second half. A handful of triples helped the home town tread water for a little bit, but things seemed to really unravel when CJ McCollum, at the spry age of 34, went up for an unnecessary one-handed dunk.
He got hung at the rim without a defender nearby.
From there, Minnesota outscored Washington 26 to 12 to end the quarter, growing the lead up to as much as 31. The Wizards were carelessly throwing the ball all over the place while not putting up an ounce of effort on the defensive end of the court. Meanwhile, the home crowd “Oo’d” and ”Ah’d” over every Edwards make, as he punctuated his night with a flurry of jump shots. He poured in another 19 points in the third quarter.
It was all academic by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
Donte DiVincenzo, who was having another frigid night from beyond the arc, stayed in just long enough to hit his first triple. Bones Hyland, who had been equally cold, also drained his first triple much to the bench’s glee. We had Leonard Miller, Johnny Juzang, Joe Ingles, and Rob Dillingham in the game after just a couple minutes into the final stanza.
It was a feel good victory despite the nerves that fans had entering the night. Fans were getting Anthony Edwards jerseys during game action, including a young fan in the crowd with a Matilda t-shirt on (Edwards’ favorite movie).
Everyone except the Wizards, that is.
Quick Hits
- Make this three straight games of 30-points or more for Anthony Edwards. Aside from some wonky passes when the game was already out of reach, this seems like a peak version of Edwards. He was 14 of 21 from the field and on fire from perimeter. Active in the passing lanes, taking his shots mostly in rhythm. We should not be ungrateful for this kind of performance.
- Rudy Gobert was really going at Alex Sarr. He seemed to have no remorse for his fellow countryman, dominating him on both ends of the court. Gobert had some extra juice for Sarr, seemingly enjoying holding him to just seven points on three of 10 shooting. The compete factor with Gobert is something that we should rarely question.
- Jaylen Clark had a fun 28 minutes tonight, a season-high. He had a classic pick-six early in the game, and continues to be a strong corner cutter. He plays super physical even on his drives, resulting in five free throw attempts. The Wolves are now 15-1 when he plays 15 or more minutes.
- Johnny Juzang played and scored six points in nine minutes. That’s 24 points per 36 minutes!
- I want to stay positive in this recap, but sadly, it’s hard not to comment on Rob Dillingham once again. He was literally the last player off the bench in a blowout win. Even when he was out there, he was getting bullied on both ends of the court. Zero for two from the floor, two bad turnovers, and two personal fouls. Between the 27 different players that saw the floor, he was literally the only one who did not register a single point. Today was his 21st birthday (How do these things work?).
- Sadly, we did not get to see any Joan Beringer tonight. Why? He was busy dominating for the Iowa Wolves!
Highlights
Box Score
Comment of the Night
Up Next
Minnesota heads back home for the first time in 2026. They begin their seven-day, three-game homestand against the Miami HEAT on Tuesday, January 6 at 7:00 pm CT. The Wolves will don the beautiful black tree jerseys as the game will be broadcast on both Peacock and FanDuel Sports North.
