Timberwolves intend to tighten effort vs. surging Nets

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Coming off his sixth 40-point outing of the season, Anthony Edwards hopes to help the Minnesota Timberwolves earn their fourth straight home win Saturday night when they face the improving Brooklyn Nets.

Edwards dazzled with a 44-point showing in a Christmas showcase against the Denver Nuggets, but it was not good enough because of Nikola Jokic's 56-point triple-double.

Edwards tied his season high in points as the Timberwolves absorbed a 142-138 overtime loss. Edwards scored 13 points in the fourth quarter when Minnesota overcame a 14-point deficit and added 11 in overtime before he received two late technical fouls and was ejected.

"We're not going anywhere," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. "I didn't think we played very good basketball in the third quarter. I thought we were way better from the middle of the third quarter on. We're always going to respond."

The Wolves are 2-4 when Edwards scores at least 40 points after going 7-2 in those games last season. The 142 points allowed tied a season high as did the 19 made baskets allowed from 3-point range.

Julius Randle supported Edwards with 32 points, but the Wolves also were for called for 27 fouls, two shy of their season worst. Jokic went 22 of 23 from the line.

"We just got to get a little tighter, cleaner down the stretch, tighter with our coverages," Randle said.

Edwards sat out with a hamstring injury when the Wolves shot 56.4% in their 125-109 win at Brooklyn on Nov. 3. Brooklyn's loss in the first meeting was part of its 0-7 start to the season, with signs of gradual progress ever since.

After losing 11 of their first 12 games, the Nets are a respectable 8-7 since Nov. 16 and have been even better this month. Brooklyn is 6-3 in December while allowing 111 points or less seven times, resulting in a defense allowing 102.7 points over the stretch.

The latest standout defensive showing occurred in Tuesday's 114-106 win over the host Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets held the 76ers to 40.7% shooting from the floor after holding the Toronto Raptors to 37.2% on Sunday.

It was the seventh time this season Brooklyn held an opponent under 45% and six of those instances are in December. On Tuesday, Brooklyn held Philadelphia star Tyrese Maxey to 3-of-14 shooting.

"So happy for the guys, I think they did a great job," Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. "Not just against him, but the whole game defensively was a good game."

Brooklyn has played without Cam Thomas since a hamstring injury in the first quarter of a 112-103 win at Indiana on Nov. 5. Thomas, who averaged 21.4 points in eight games before getting hurt, returned to practice Friday and will play Saturday.

Thomas will join an offense frequently led by Michael Porter Jr., who scored 25 of his 28 points in the first half Tuesday and has scored at least 20 in eight of his last nine games.

"It was big, we were in the game, we had the lead, and Mike was a big part of it," Fernández said. "As you guys know, he makes open shots, he makes contested shots, and he makes impossible shots. He was huge for us."

Thomas will also join a rotation that includes an improving Egor Demin. The rookie scored 20 points on Tuesday and has reached double figures in a season-high four straight games.

--Field Level Media