Wolves starters scoring among best clip in NBA
The Minnesota Timberwolves delivered the upset of the season Tuesday when they downed the Golden State Warriors 124-117 in overtime.
They became just the second team to top the Warriors at Oakland's Oracle Arena this season, but the Wolves' win was rare, even from a historical perspective.
Minnesota became just the fourth team to beat a squad with more than 69 wins, joining the Pacers, who topped the 1996 Chicago Bulls late in the season, as well as the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, both of whom topped the Bulls in 1997.
Teams to Defeat Opponent with 69+ Wins
| DATE |
TEAM (RECORD) |
OPP. (RECORD) | SCORE |
| April 20, 1996 |
Pacers (50-30) |
at Bulls (71-9) |
100-99 |
| April 16, 1997 |
Heat (59-20) |
vs Bulls (69-11) |
102-92 |
| April 19, 1997 |
Knicks (56-25) |
at Bulls (69-12) |
103-101 |
| April 15, 2016 |
Wolves (25-51) |
at Warriors (69-8) |
124-117 (OT) |
But while the win was surprising, the play of the Timberwolves' starters wasn't.
Minnesota's young starters have been stuffing the stat sheet in recent weeks, and are second in the league in points per game, trailing only the team that they stunned on Tuesday: the Warriors.
Most PPG by Starters, Post-ASG
| TEAM | PPG/Starters |
| Golden State |
83.5 |
| Timberwolves | 80.0 |
| Detroit | 77.0 |
| Oklahoma City | 76.4 |
| Cleveland | 75.9 |
And while he hasn't started a single game for the Timberwolves this season, Shabazz Muhammad made his presence known in a big way at Oracle, tying the franchise record for points off of the bench, a mark that starter Zach LaVine set just a few months ago.
Timberwolves, Most Single-Game Points Off Bench
| PLAYER | DATE | OPPONENT | POINTS |
| Shabazz Muhammad |
April 5, 2016 |
Warriors |
35 |
| Zach LaVine |
Jan. 27, 2016 | Thunder | 35 |
| Michael Beasley |
Jan. 12, 2012 | Rockets | 34 |
| Rashad McCants |
Jan. 4, 2008 | Nuggets | 34 |
| Wally Szczerbiak |
Jan. 21, 2005 |
Sonics | 34 |
Other notes:
-- The Wolves are looking for their first season sweep of the Kings. In the first three matchups vs. Sacramento, Minnesota has shot 50.6 percent from the field and has a +7.7 points per game differential. Both totals are the best in Wolves history against the Kings.
-- Andrew Wiggins is averaging 20.8 points per game, which is the third-most in NBA history for a player who began the season at age 20 or younger.
-- Karl-Anthony Towns has 24 games of 20+ points and 10+ rebounds this season, which is two ore than the combined total of every other NBA rookie combined.
Statistics courtesy STATS Inc.