National Basketball Association
Washington 109, Minnesota 95
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District of Columbia
Officials:
#79 Kevin Scott, #20 Leroy Richardson, #13 Monty McCutchen
Attendance:
15823
By SportsDirect Inc.
Wizards 109, Timberwolves 95: John Wall collected 21 points and a career high-tying 17 assists as host Washington ran its winning streak to five games.
Rasual Butler scored 18 of his season high-tying 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, who have won eight in a row at home and are 12 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 1978-79 season. Marcin Gortat added 15 as Washington survived the absence of Paul Pierce, who sat due to a sore toe.
Thaddeus Young led Minnesota with a season-high 29 points, 19 coming in a blistering third quarter. Shabazz Muhammad scored 21 points off the bench and Gorgui Dieng finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who were 20-of-35 from the line.
Wall had five points and six assists in the first six-plus minutes as Washington raced to an 18-5 lead, and Garrett Temple's 3-pointer in the opening possession of the second quarter made it 30-16. The Wizards went 6-of-23 from the floor the rest of the way to halftime as their lead shrunk to 10 points.
Young erupted in the third, going 9-for-10 from the floor to help Minnesota pull within 74-69, but Butler had three straight baskets early in the fourth to push the margin back to double digits. Muhammad collected seven straight points for the Timberwolves midway through to get it as close as nine before a 3-pointer by Butler made it 96-82 with 5:51 left and Washington coasted from there.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Timberwolves C Rony Turiaf had successful hip surgery and will miss the rest of the season. ... Minnesota PG Mo Williams returned from a six-game layoff due to a back injury, finishing with six points in 14 minutes. ... Butler was 4-of-5 from 3-point range as Washington finished 10-of-17.
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Washington |
|
Thaddeus Young 29 |
Scoring |
Rasual Butler 23 |
|
Zach Lavine 8 |
Assists |
John Wall 17 |
|
Gorgui Dieng 12 |
Rebounds |
Kris Humphries 10 |
|
Gorgui Dieng 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Bradley Beal 3 |
|
Shabazz Muhammad 3 |
Steals |
Bradley Beal 3 |
|
Gorgui Dieng 3 |
Blocks |
Marcin Gortat 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Minnesota
|
95 |
44.4 |
3-8 |
20-35 |
17 |
41 |
5 |
7 |
10 |
| Washington
|
109 |
50.0 |
10-17 |
13-18 |
29 |
46 |
8 |
7 |
10 |
Upcoming Games
-
Washington will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Wizards have a W/L % of .765 after a win and .714 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .278 after a loss.
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