Philadelphia convincingly beat Minnesota in Game 1 after meticulous night from the field
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PHILADELPHIA, MAY 28 -- Sometimes change is necessary. In this case, it was beneficial to the Philadelphia 76ers. Hours before tip-off, the Philadelphia 76ers made the brash but brave decision to replace veteran Josh Richardson in the starting line-up with rookie Matisse Thybulle. Hours later, the unknown rookie had played a huge role in the Philadelphia 76ers slaughtering the Minnesota Timberwolves, 131-98. The rookie, who never played in the regular season and had accrued only 290 minutes throughout the postseason, came through big by leading the 76ers with 22 points. Minnesota were so weak defending the interior, the buckets landed plenty and often for the 76ers, who struggled to miss the net. Eight players recorded double-digit points, with Philly’s bench outscoring Minnesota’s, 60-28 while scoring 56 of their 131 points in the paint. The move for Thybulle to start was to kickstart Philadelphia’s offense, which wanted to match the firepower of Minnesota’s. They never quite needed to do that, as their second ranked defense shut the Minnesota Timberwolves completely down, helping the offense take a 44 point lead at one stage of the night. Minnesota shot badly, converting just 38% of their shots and Joel Embiid had blocked 2 shots within the first two minutes of the game. Minnesota would miss 5 of their first 6 shots. It did look positive early, when Karl Anthony-Towns nailed a three-point shot. The offense would never materialise and Philadelphia coasted to a Game 1 victory.
“We didn’t play well enough, it’s that simple. We chose Game 1 of the NBA Finals to play our worst game of the postseason. We can’t allow that,” said Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders. While Anthony-Towns led the team with 28 points, he struggled for much of the night, coming down with just 3 rebounds while starting the game 1 of 6 from the field. Joel Embiid was held to 12 points but his 15 boards led the game and contributed to the 76ers out rebounding Minnesota, offensive and defensively, 76-38. There’s no doubt about it. The Minnesota Timberwolves were clearly outplayed and never looked comfortable. While D’Angelo Russell recorded 15 points, 8 assists and 3 steals while converting 3 of his 5 shots from deep, he never received the support for Minnesota to hold their early lead or mount a comeback. Kelly Oubre was a non-factor and Naz Reid was never in a position try a field goal. The 76ers bottled up the Timberwolves attack and they had no answer. If there is one silver lining to their loss, it may lie with Josh Okogie, who perhaps played the best game of his career with a 16 point night in just 18 minutes on the court. “We couldn’t do the things we wanted, it was frustrating man,” said shooting guard Malik Beasley, who had 13 points. Philadelphia had total control of the game. Backup Alec Burks had 15 points in his 20 minutes of action, which is one more minute than what Ben Simmons (12 points) played as the starters came out of the game early in the fourth quarter.
“Embarrassing loss,” said D’Angelo Russell after the game. “A lot went wrong. We still have the rest of the series to sort it out, but we can’t afford to go back to Minnesota with a 2-0 hole.” Both teams tasted victory far more than defeat this postseason. Minnesota came in with a 12-2 record. Philadelphia with a 12-3 record. Minnesota had two sweeps. Philadelphia went 4-1 in each of their 3 playoff series. Defense wins championships is the mantra proudly spoken of in American sports. Tonight was the occasion. Philadelphia’s defense forced Minnesota to shoot 29% from the field by the time half-time rolled around, giving the 76ers a 34 point lead in a 76-42 game. From the 73 games the Minnesota Timberwolves have played, it’s likely they’ll rebound from their harrowing NBA Finals series opening loss. It’s left a bad taste in their mouths. Winning in Philadelphia isn’t easy. The 76ers have enjoyed a 26-12 (.684%) home record this season, which includes the postseason. The crowd was riled up for the biggest home night in over 19 years. They were loud, proud and hostile when the Timberwolves had possession. It’s a disappointing first ever game in the NBA Finals for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who came in as the favourites to win the series. Now? Not so much after such a heavy defeat. At times they have faced adversity, they’ve rebounded. The Timberwolves will have a huge test ahead of them in Game 2, let’s see if they can rebound.