Towns, Edwards get going in Timberwolves’ win over Utah

Not only did the Timberwolves win Saturday — beating Utah 123-95 for their second straight victory at Target Center — they did it largely through the efforts of their two star players.

That hasn’t often been the case this season as Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards have struggled in their own ways. Towns struggled to find clean looks from the power forward position, and Edwards struggled to work within the flow of Minnesota’s offensive system.

Neither was an issue Saturday, as Towns took advantage of 1-on-1 opportunities in the post and beat Utah’s occasional looks of zone defense with his outside shot, while Edwards was consistently aggressive, but in a sensible way.

Edwards finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Towns tallied 25 points and seven boards.

Just as importantly, Rudy Gobert finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Of his five buckets, at least three of them came off interior feeds from Towns and Edwards, who ingratiated the always-available center down low without it ever feeling forced.

Minnesota’s roster is so deep and talented that it won’t fall on its two max-contract players to tally large stat lines on a nightly basis to win the game — Mike Conley, Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson are equally capable of making game-winning plays that determine an outcome.

But it’s important for Towns and Edwards to continue to show they can do it when called upon, and in a responsible way that doesn’t bring everything else Minnesota is doing to a halt. That was the case Saturday. And the result was a stellar offensive showing as a whole, as Minnesota shot 56% from the field and 38% from deep.

That was a stark contrast to Utah, which shot just 39% from the field and had to work hard for every look. Minnesota continues to be a stout on half-court defense. The less-talented, equally as slow Jazz (2-5) could do little to trouble the Timberwolves (3-2). Nothing Utah — which trailed by just five at the break — had success with Saturday felt sustainable.

Eventually, Minnesota wore Utah down, with Towns living at the free-throw line in the third quarter, and Edwards delivering one final gut-punch to the Jazz in the form of a fourth-quarter flurry. There are a lot of ways in which Minnesota can beat you, but two standout performances from Edwards and Towns on the same evening is always a strong recipe.

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