Anthony Edwards says Timberwolves ‘knew everything’ Brooklyn would do but still dominated

The Brooklyn Nets they faced the toughest test of their recent hot streak on Saturday. They did great, dominating Minnesota Timberwolves123-107, in front of a sellout crowd at Target Center.

The win was Brooklyn’s seventh in its last 10 games. While many teams have taken the Nets lightly for allegedly falling flat during that stretch, Anthony Edwards he felt The Timberwolves were prepared, but outmatched.

“It was a great scout. We knew everything they were going to do. I guess they were just better than us,” Edwards said.

After a poor 0-7 start, the Nets are 10-12 in their last 22 games. Jordi Fernandes’ team holds the NBA’s best defense in December, limiting opponents to 103.1 points per game. They clicked on both ends against Minnesota, which holds the ninth-best record in the NBA.

Nets dominate Timberwolves for seventh win in last 10 games

The Nets held the Timberwolves to 37-of-83 (45 percent) shooting. Offensively, they endured a cold shooting night (11 of 40 from three) with the help of their bench. Cam Thomas led the offense during his first quarterback coming off a nearly two-month layoff, scoring a career-high 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting in just 20 minutes off the bench.

“We were just connected,” Nic Clacton he said. “It was a really good win to come here. Minnesota is one of the best teams in the West. To come here on their court and win, we were just connected all night. Really, on both ends. We made timely shots, especially towards the end of the game. This is a great win.”

Brooklyn’s bench outscored Minnesota 62-33. Michael Porter Jr. led the starters with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 9-of-16 shooting.

“Everybody played well, everybody contributed to the win. The starters played well and the bench was outstanding. You look at plus-minus for what it’s worth, but you also look at bench points. I know CT (having) 30 in less than 20 minutes is extremely impressive. But all those guys played very well. They were connected on defense. 4 points supported each other. It’s very impressive, so keep doing the right things. It’s not always going to be perfect, but proud of guys, proud of you all.

Brooklyn’s length and defensive activity limited Edwards to 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Meanwhile, Julius Randle scored just 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

After posting a league-worst defensive rating of 128.5 during their 0-7 start, The Nets rank fourth with a rating of 111.7 in the last 22 games.

“You have to give the coaches a lot of credit. We’re just talking, we’re figuring things out as a group, the coaches and the players. And then obviously we go out there and perform at a high level,” Claxton said of the turnaround. “A lot of defense is just effort, and we work hard. We put in the time in practice, and our work shows. And man, it’s fun to guard like this. It’s fun to make stops. I know myself, I take a lot of pride in defense. We had a little slip, and I was like, ‘Let’s go. Let’s get back on track.” So we just have to keep building and see where we can take it.”

Doc The Nets seemed destined for one of the worst records in the NBA early this season, their defensive turnaround put them in the game conversation. After Saturday’s win, Brooklyn is three games back of the Atlanta Hawks for 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

Fernandez’s team is not lacking in confidence after their most impressive win of the season.

“When you get Mike playing at the level he’s playing right now, then you throw Cam Thomas in the wing, and you have us defending like we are, we’re going to be an extremely tough team to beat every night,” Claxton said. “We’re going to compete, because they’re two extremely gifted scores. And we’ve got scorers around (them). We’ve got me, Day’Ron (Sharp) on the wing. So we’ve got a lot of different options, a lot to build on.”