‘Hard-headed’ Timberwolves take aim at improving Wizards
The Minnesota Timberwolves will close a four-game road swing by playing the second half of a weekend back-to-back set on Sunday evening against the Washington Wizards.
Minnesota's Anthony Edwards scored 33 points, Naz Reid added 29 off the bench, and Julius Randle collected 23 points and 10 rebounds in a 125-115 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday.
The win improved the Timberwolves to 2-1 on their Eastern Conference trip as they bounced back from a 126-102 loss on Wednesday at Atlanta.
Minnesota tipped off the trip Monday with a 136-101 romp at Chicago that saw Reid erupt for six 3-pointers in 10 attempts and 33 points. The 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year is making a case for the award again, entering Sunday's contest with double-digit scoring in 16 of the Timberwolves' last 19 games after a slow offensive start to the season.
"We had really consistent energy for most of the evening," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said following the win.
In his media availability before Saturday's contest, Finch lamented Minnesota's waning energy at times this season. Edwards expounded in his postgame media availability, saying the Timberwolves occasionally have strayed from the plan but are at their best when locked into their roles.
"Most of the times, we don't listen to the game plan, but when we listen to it and execute, we (are) pretty good," Edwards said. "We're hard-headed. We wanted to make the game harder. But tonight we listened, and it worked."
Washington, meanwhile, has won four of its last five contests and seeks its first three-game winning streak of the season. The Wizards closed 2025 with a last-second win at Milwaukee on Wednesday, thanks to back-to-back buckets down the stretch from CJ McCollum.
Washington followed with a 119-99 rout of Brooklyn on Friday, marking just the second game this season in which the Wizards held an opponent to less than 100 points. The Wizards complemented their defensive effort with balanced scoring, led by Justin Champagnie's 20 points off the bench.
"He scores in a variety of ways. We know the offensive rebounding," said Washington coach Brian Keefe, noting the swingman's average of 2.1 offensive rebounds per game.
"He's (also) a great cutter, and then he's a great 3-pointer, and that was going to come around. He shot really well from 3 last year, and that's what's on the uptick lately."
Champagnie shot 38.3% from long distance last season but only 30.4% in 2025-26. However, he is 8-for-16 from 3-point range over his last five games.
Washington also has seen key contributions in its current stretch from second-year big man Alex Sarr. He followed his 20-point, 11-rebound performance at Milwaukee with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists vs. Brooklyn.
Sarr also has 23 blocked shots in the past six games, and his average of 2.4 blocks a contest leads the NBA.
Sarr's 17.7 points per game are second-most on the Wizards, behind McCollum (18.5), and he paces Washington with 8.0 rebounds per game.