Minnesota Timberwolves cruise past struggling Orlando Magic to pick up 90-75 victory – NBA Recap
The Minnesota Timberwolves picked up their third victory of the season when they cruised past the visiting Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. The Wolves lost track in the second period where they were limited to only 13 points, but played a good overall game to pick up a comfortable 90-75 victory in the end. Luke Ridnour was the top scorer for the Wolves with 19 points and 5 rebounds, going 3 of 4 from the distance. J.J. Redick led the Magic scoring with 16 points, going 5 of 12 from the field.
Minnesota got off to a cruising start, going on an 18-6 run to start the game and take the early lead. The Orlando Magic struggled to find their offence early on, and only managed 6 points till the 4:04 mark. A turnaround jump shot by Brandon Roy was followed by a free throw by Ridnour and a layup by Greg Stiemsma to give the Wolves a 25-10 lead. The Wolves led 25-12 at the end of the period.
It was Minnesota who fell into a scoring drought at the start of the second period, missing their first 11 field goal attempts and going scoreless for the first four minutes of the period. Orlando capitalized by going on an 8-1 run, but the Wolves still held a 26-20 lead. A three pointer by Aaron Afflalo had the Magic trailing 27-31, but a three pointer by Ridnour put the Wolves back up 36-27. A 7-2 run by the Magic to close the first half had the Wolves advantage down to 38-34.
Derrick Williams and Ridnour scored back to back three pointers for the Wolves to open the third period, putting them up 44-38. A 9-2 run later by the Wolves extended their lead to 53-40, but a slam dunk by Gustavo Ayon followed by a three pointer by Redick had the Magic within five of the Wolves. Minnesota closed the third period on a 10-2 run and took their lead back to 68-55 heading into the final period.
The Wolves continued their domination of the game by starting the final period with a 14-2 run capped off by a three pointer from Alexey Shved to lead 82-57. Orlando did reply with a 14-2 run of their own to cut the Wolves lead to 88-73, but the lead was too much to completely swallow and the Wolves eventually won 90-75.
Minnesota shot 44.7 percent from the field and were 7 of 20 from three point range, where as Orlando shot only 35 percent from the field and 25 percent from the distance. Derrick Williams finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds for the Wolves, and Greg Stiemsma added 12. Aaron Afflalo had 12 points for the Magic.
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