Karl-Anthony Towns had 40 points (22 in the paint) and 15 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from 15 points down in the first quarter to beat the Washington Wizards 135-130 in overtime.
The Timberwolves trailed 30-15 with 3:29 left in the first quarter and 71-60 at halftime. They outscored the Wizards 120-100 the rest of the way.
Taj Gibson’s tip-in with 1:08 left in overtime made it 129-125, and Derrick Rose’s 19-foot step-back jumper with 22.6 seconds left in overtime put it away at 131-127.
During clutch time, the Timberwolves outscored the Wizards 23-17. Rose scored 8 of the Timberwolves’ 23 on 3 for 6 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line.
Rose scored 29 points (16 on mid-range shots) off the bench.
For the Wizards, Bradley Beal had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, and Trevor Ariza added 27 points on 8 for 13 shooting. Bobby Portis had 21 points and 12 rebounds. The Wizards had 3 20-point scorers.
The Wizards forced 10 turnovers, about 8 fewer than usual for this many possessions. The Timberwolves outscored the Wizards 60-27 off the bench. The Timberwolves outscored the Wizards 20-10 in 5 minutes with Rose, Gibson, Jones, Towns and Bates-Diop on the floor together.