Wolves' Wiggins impresses again, drops 30 in OKC
The Minnesota Timberwolves aren't exactly Timberpups anymore. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins are well into their NBA careers at this point, while the Wolves' lineup features seven players with 5-plus years of experience.
Welcome to the 2018-19 edition of the Young Wolves Tracker, formerly the Timberpups Tracker.
Each Thursday we'll either track the progress of the Iowa Wolves players who might be of help to the Timberwolves in the future, or a current member of Minnesota's roster. We'll also give updates on the other young players from the previous week.
This is the 8th edition of the 2018-19 Young Wolves Tracker.
SPOTLIGHT ON …
Forward Andrew Wiggins
Andrew Wiggins did it again.
In the midst of ongoing questions about his true potential, Wiggins went off.
Wiggins played his best game of the season Sunday, scoring 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting to lead the Wolves to a 114-112 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It wasn't just his first 30-point game of the season (and first since dropping 40 points on the Los Angeles Clippers last January), it was a game-winning effort.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and just four rebounds, while the Wolves' bench was relatively toothless with both starting point guard Jeff Teague and resurgent sparkplug Derrick Rose out.
This was the Wiggins show as it was from 2014-16 (or thereabouts), back when youth and his proximity to that spectacular amateur career papered over some of his persistent issues.
He was sharp in OKC, hitting a pair of 3s and adding six rebounds and five assists -- both of which matched season highs -- against just four turnovers.
Wiggins came flying out of the gate, scoring 15 points in the first quarter, and delivered with the game on the line.
His layup with just 14.3 seconds to play stood up as the game-winner.
He came back to earth Wednesday, struggling from the field and scoring and scoring 14 points in just under 32 minutes during the Wolves' 25-point win over the Chicago Bulls.
However, it was another tantalizing look at what Wiggins can do when he's on.
WOLF TRACKS
-- Where Wiggins struggled against Chicago, Towns roared back to life, racking up 20 points and 20 rebounds while making both of his 3-point tries.
-- Tyus Jones drew his first start since Nov. 4 with Teague and Rose ailing, scoring 13 points with five assists in just over 20 minutes in Oklahoma City.
-- Also: Not a great stretch for rookie Josh Okogie, who has 25 points on 7-of-24 shooting in his last four games combined.
-- The Iowa Wolves fell to the Windy City Bulls in the G League Showcase on Friday, but rookie Keita Bates-Diop had a solid game, scoring 28 points with 11 rebounds. He's averaging 17.5 points per game, second on the team, and shooting 42.8 percent from the field through 13 games.