New Orleans Pelicans @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Friday, March 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN | Game ID: 22401016
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIN 28 34 35 37 134NOP 22 26 24 21 93
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Randle scores 20 points and Timberwolves stomp Pelicans 134-93 to keep pace in Western Conference
MINNEAPOLIS -- — Julius Randle had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves avoided losing to one of the Western Conference's worst teams for the second time in three days with a 134-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards each scored 17 points, and Rudy Gobert had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which moved back within a game of Golden State for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with 10 games left in the regular season.
The Timberwolves' 41-point margin of victory was their largest this season.
Edwards also finished with five assists and three rebounds after a brief injury scare in the third quarter. The three-time All-Star went to the locker room holding his right thigh, but returned later in the period.
With his wife and three children in attendance, Minnesota's Joe Ingles made his first start since Jan. 30, 2022, and went scoreless with an assist in just over six minutes. Ingles' son Jacob, who has autism, recently reached the milestone of viewing an entire game in person. Finch gave Ingles the start so Jacob could watch his father play.
C.J. McCollum led the Pelicans with 15 points, and Bruce Brown scored 14.
Takeaways Pelicans: Entering Friday with the Western Conference's second-worst record, New Orleans played without star forward Zion Williamson because of a bruised lower back.
Timberwolves: During its ascent to being a Western Conference contender in recent years, Minnesota has sometimes underperformed against teams well below it in the standings. That was the case in a 119-115 loss at home Wednesday, but the Wolves outscored New Orleans 72-45 in the second half Friday night.
Key moment McDaniels took a baseline pass from Mike Conley and dunked straight over Pelicans rim protector Yves Missi to give Minnesota an 80-59 advantage midway through the third quarter.
Key stat The Pelicans are the NBA's No. 5 team in second-chance points with 15.8 per game, but Minnesota outscored them 20-4 in that category Friday.
Up next The Pelicans head to Detroit on Sunday, and the Timberwolves play Monday at Indiana.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MINAE A. Edwards
BH B. Hyland
DD D. DiVincenzo
JC J. Clark
JI J. Ingles
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. Minott
JR J. Randle
LG L. Garza
MC M. Conley
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RD R. Dillingham
RG R. Gobert
TS T. Shannon Jr.
NOPAR A. Reeves
BB B. Brown
CM C. McCollum
EP E. Payton
JA J. Alvarado
JH J. Hawkins
JR J. Robinson-Earl
KB K. Brooks Jr.
KM K. Matković
KO K. Olynyk
YM Y. Missi
MIN/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur