Kevin Durant dominates the Timberwolves for 10th career triple-double
Kevin Durant has always been known as one of the more well tempered players in the NBA. After being ejected only twice in the first 810 games of his career, Durant has now been ejected four times this season alone.
His latest ejection came in a fairly relaxed affair with the New York Knicks, but this should come as no surprise after this year’s KD has seemed intent on holding the refs accountable for their every missed call. He apologized for his actions and postgame remarks, but the small forward was anything but apologetic as he absolutely dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves the following night.
Durant bagged up his 10th career triple-double with a stat stuffing boxscore that read 28 points, 10 boards and 11 assists. The Warriors responded well to their superstar’s big performance and drained a season-high 21 shots from downtown in their 126-113 triumph over the Timberwolves.
Minnesota tried to limit the Warriors’ shots from beyond the arc, but Golden State’s shooters were in an unbreakable rhythm and they couldn’t be phased by the closing pressure of the T-Wolves many hopeless defenders. Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson accounted for 18 of the Warriors’ 21 threes and combined for 78 points.
It’s already darn near impossible to slow the Warriors down, but when Durant joins in the passing parade that powers their prolific offense, the task of shutting down Golden State gets even harder for opposing players.
Since joining the Warriors, Durant has recorded three triple-doubles and made himself into one of the premiere defensive forces in the league. He was already arguably the second or third best player in the league, but now he’s now undeniably closing in on LeBron James’ throne.
As great as the Warriors played, they just couldn’t stop Karl-Anthony Towns. He scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but his efforts weren’t quite enough to bring home the W. Jamal Crawford’s 21 points in 25 minutes and Jeff Teague’s 17 points and seven assists helped keep Minnesota within arms reach, but without four time All-Star Jimmy Butler, the young T-Wolves looked lost on defensive rotations all night.
It certainly didn’t help Minnesota’s cause that Andrew Wiggins disappeared. He was such a non-factor, that despite leading his team in minutes played, he brought virtually nothing to the table. Wiggins scored only 10 points on 4-18 shooting and his defense was subpar as usual.
The Timberwolves are no longer the laughing stock of the NBA, but they have a long way to go before they can call themselves contenders. Although they sit one game behind the third place San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference, until they learn how to play efficiently with or without Butler, don’t expect them to make major strides in the standings any time soon.
