Instant Replay: Timberwolves 126, Sixers 95

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The Sixers had little recovery time after flying cross-country Saturday night into Sunday morning following their fourth consecutive win.

However, they still looked fresh early against the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first game at the Wells Fargo Center after their six-game road trip.

It wouldn’t last.

The Sixers were throttled in a 126-95 loss to the Timberwolves to drop their record to 12-22 on the seaon.

Turning point
The Sixers were tied with the Timberwolves at 46 with seven minutes to play in the first half. Minnesota proceeded to go on a 24-8 run to close out the half with a 70-54 lead.

The 70 points were one shy of the Sixers’ season high allowed in a first half this season.

Follow the leader
Kevin Love led Minnesota with 26 points and he sat the entire fourth quarter. Nikola Pekovic had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Thaddeus Young scored 20 points in 28 minutes, while James Anderson came off the bench to score 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. Anderson also grabbed seven rebounds.

Stat-egic
One game after holding Portland’s NBA-leading three-point shooting attack to 3 of 22 from behind the arc, the Sixers allowed Minnesota to connect on 16 of 26 three-point attempts (61.5 percent) (see 6 observations).

The Timberwolves came into Monday’s game averaging 7.8 threes per game and 33.7 percent.

Take a bow
The Timberwolves’ defense held the Sixers to 95 points. They also forced Brett Brown’s group into 23 turnovers and turned those errors into 30 points.

During the Sixers’ four-game winning streak, they averaged 13.3 turnovers, almost four less than their season average.

What’s next?
The Sixers play the Cavaliers in Cleveland Tuesday night. The Sixers and Cavs split their two meetings this season when they played a back-to-back set on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9.

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