The Minnesota Timberwolves (8-6) are among the most competitive and hungry teams in the Western Conference this season.
They took a big risk trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for a heavy package that included Julius Randle.
So far, that trade is working just fine for Minnesota as Randle has found his grove and identity early with this new team.
On Sunday, the former Knick had his biggest game of the season by scoring 35 points shooting 11-of-20 in field goals, as well as, accounting for four rebounds, seven assists and a steal. His big moment came when he sank a 25-foot three-pointer to beat the buzzer thus giving Minnesota the 120-117 win over the Phoenix Suns.
There is controversy just days after the big-time buzzer-beater to defeat the Suns. The latest two-minute report from the league says that the refs missed a double dribble call right before Randle’s shot attempt. This would have given the Suns the ball to attempt to score quickly or at least take the game to overtime.
Randle gave a funny, but stern response about the report:
“Too late! Too late. Should have called it then. I honestly didn’t even know and my wife she told me.
“She said something and made a joke about me traveling or something like that. I was like, ‘s___ I don’t care, it’s over with now’.
“Can’t go back and get it, so I find it funny.”
This game against the Suns was easily the best game of his young tenure with the Timberwolves. He has been defined as a strong-willed player in the paint as well as a key attribute throughout the court. As the season as been progressing for Randle, he has been getting more comfortable in his shot selections and knowing that he needs to be the go-to player if star guard Anthony Edwards is keyed on.
On Friday, Randle had his previous best game of the season in the 130-126 overtime win at the Sacramento Kings. Randle accounted for 26 points, four rebounds, five assists and a steal. Now, Randle is comfortable to take the final shot of the game, even if refs miss the double-dribble.
He is averaging 21.6 points per game shooting a field-goal percentage of 50.7% and a three-point shooting percentage of 38.2%. He is also averaging 6.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 0.6 steals per game. Edwards has found a solid co-star in Randle to rely on in the paint and, now, throughout the court.
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