Indiana outplayed Minnesota in every sense in the first half of Saturday’s bout at Target Center.

The Pacers outworked and outexecuted the Timberwolves. And yet, Minnesota led 57-55 at the break. How? Because the Timberwolves have Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, and the Pacers do not.

Towns scored 14 points in the first quarter and Edwards poured in 18 in the second to lift an otherwise lethargic Wolves offense. They kept the boat afloat long enough for the rest of the team to show up to the party in the second half as the Wolves won 127-109.

As has often been the case this season, the team as a whole turned on the afterburners in the third frame, and the rest was history.

The Wolves (19-5) outscored Indiana 38-23 in the third frame. From there, the game was essentially an exhibition. One that was highlighted by Towns and Edwards, who flexed their offensive muscles through various methods of domination.

Towns attacked in the post and in the mid-range. After a slow start, Edwards got himself going through a number of buried contested triples.

The two combined for 87 points Saturday — Towns finished with 40, while Edwards got to 37 before being subbed out with just more than five minutes to play.

Edwards knocked down seven three-pointers on a night at Target Center centered on the public release of his new signature shoe. But it was Towns who played the best overall game of the evening. The big man grabbed 12 boards to go with four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

“We followed KAT’s lead tonight,” Edwards said in his postgame, on-court interview.

“When me and him play like this,” Towns said, “it’s special.”

Indiana (13-11) tried to defend him with one player throughout the night, to no avail. The Pacers were sans star guard Tyrese Haliburton and were playing on the second night of a back to back. They simply couldn’t hang with Minnesota over the game’s final 24 minutes. Particularly not on a night where Minnesota went 18 for 30 from three-point range.

Naz Reid and Troy Brown Jr. each went 3 for 5 from deep.

The way in which Edwards and Towns controlled the game allowed veterans like Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley to play just 24 and 25 minutes, respectively, giving them valuable rest ahead of a treacherous four-day stretch — which starts Monday in Miami — that features games against the Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers.

Health-dependent, that could prove to be Minnesota’s toughest stretch of the season. The Wolves may have to endure it without Jaden McDaniels, who left the game early in the third frame with a lower back bruise.

But if Towns and Edwards are firing on all cylinders, as they were Saturday, Minnesota will always be a tough out.