Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels scored 15 points apiece, and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 115-93 win over the host Orlando Magic on Friday night.
Rudy Gobert added 14 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which won its second game in a row to start the season. Ayo Dosunmu finished with 14 points and nine assists, and LaMelo Ball chipped in 12 points.
Wendell Carter Jr. tallied 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Orlando, which dropped its second straight game under first-year head coach Sean Sweeney. Franz Wagner recorded 18 points before fouling out, and Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs finished with 14 points apiece.
Minnesota shot 42.9% (42 of 98) from the field and 37.8% (14 of 37) from 3-point range. Orlando shot 44% (37 of 84) overall but only 20.5% (8 of 39) from beyond the arc.
The Timberwolves led 57-45 at the half.
A fast start allowed Minnesota to seize a double-digit lead as early as the first quarter. Joan Beringer made a running dunk off a pass from Dosunmu to put the Timberwolves on top 24-13 with 1:05 remaining in the session.
In the second quarter, the Timberwolves increased their lead to as many as 17 points. Ball dished a pass to Edwards, who finished with a layup to make it 57-40 with 56 seconds remaining before the break.
Orlando scored the final five points of the first half on a 3-pointer by Suggs and a pair of free throws by Goga Bitadze.
The Magic fell further behind in the third quarter. They gave up a 17-3 run to finish the quarter, which ended with the Timberwolves leading 86-60.
Ball and Edwards combined for the first eight points of Minnesota’s third-quarter run. Beringer added a free throw and a dunk, Dosunmu made a layup, and Trey Lyles contributed a 3-pointer and a pull-up jump shot.
The Magic trailed by double digits throughout the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
