Minnesota Timberwolves finally win their first game in April; Defeat Detroit Pistons 91-80 - NBA Recap
On Thursday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI, the Detroit Pistons played hosts to the undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves. However on the night, the Wolves finally broke the curse of April as they defeated the Pistons
with a score of 91-80.
This was the first time in three seasons that the Wolves were able to win a game in the month of April. This win also put an end to the 11 game losing streak of the Wolves. On the other hand, the Pistons have now lost two straight
games after thrashing the Washington Wizards by 39 points.
Nikola Pekovic was the leading scorer for the Wolves with 23 points. He also had 9 rebounds on the night. Jose Barea finished the night in double-double figures of 13 points and 12 assists. Anthony Randolph accompanied Barea in
double-double figures with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams both came off the bench to score in double scroing figures, finishing the night with 13 and 11 points respectively.
Tayshaun Prince was the only starter for Detroit who finished the night with double digits scores of 18 points. The remaining four starters combined together to score 19 points on the night.
Will Bynum came off the bench to provide the much needed spark for the Pistons as he scored all of his 17 points in the final quarter of the game. Ben Gordon also chipped in with 14 points.
Minnesota outrebounded Detroit 48-43 on the night, despite being short handed. They also managed to outscore the Pistons 42-38 from inside the key. Another key factor in Minnesota`s win was their overall distribution of the ball
as they finished the night with 24 assists.
The Wolves looked to put their April troubles behind early in this one as they started the game with a 5-0 run. They were able to maintain their advantage till the 5:24 mark in the opening period. From that point on till the 1:12
mark in the first, Detroit scored 3 points while the Wolves remained scoreless. However by the end of the quarter, Pekovic scored three points and the Wolves were back, ahead by 8, 24-16.
Minnesota led most of the way and just around the midway point in the second quarter; they were able to extend their advantage to double-figures. By the 4:53 mark, an 8-0 run saw their advantage bloom to as big as 15 points, 36-21.
Wolves closed the last 2 and half minutes of the first half on a 9-4 run to lead by 18 at the mid-way point in the contest. In the first half, Minnesota, were locked in on their shooting rhythm as they shot the ball 57% from the
field.
The Wolves were leading by 15 at the 9:24 mark in the third quarter. From that point on, Minnesota went on an 8-0 run to push the advantage to 23 points. By the end of the period, Minnesota, were leading by 20 points.
The fourth quarter turned out to be the big stage for Bynum as he led the Detroit charge. In the first 9 minutes of the frame, Piston outscored the Wolves 20-13. Minnesota, who had led for the entire game were however still leading
81-68 with 3:12 to go till the final buzzer.
In the next two minutes, Detroit added 6 more unanswered points to get the lead down to 7 points with 1:48 remaining. The Wolves advantage was further cut down to 5 with 39.9 seconds remaining. However, in the closing stages, Minnesota
were able to hold their nerves from the free throw line as they made all 6 from the stripe to take this one by a margin of 11.
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