Timberwolves complete sweep of Pelicans despite Anthony Edwards' foul trouble

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Dec 4, 2025

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NEW ORLEANS – The Timberwolves didn’t learn their lesson from a lackluster victory Tuesday against the Western Conference’s worst team.

In a rematch between the Wolves and Pelicans, the Wolves again lacked an interest in playing consistent defense, but they did enough to come away with a 125-116 victory, their fourth consecutive victory.

Anthony Edwards battled foul trouble in the second half and finished with 11 points on only six shot attempts. Julius Randle, who had a rough game Tuesday, compensated for Edwards’ usual scoring punch with 28 points.

Edwards played the whole fourth quarter after sitting most of the third with four fouls, and with a lineup of him, Jaden McDaniels, Randle, Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo, the Wolves finally put some separation on the scoreboard between them and New Orleans after trailing 90-88 heading into the fourth. That unit went on a 17-2 run to give the Wolves their largest lead of the night to that point, 110-97.

Though center Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Finch stuck with that unit for the whole quarter. The Wolves had some issues with New Orleans’ full-court press (19 turnovers in all) but scored enough easy buckets when they broke it. McDaniels had 10 of his 14 points in the fourth and Reid finished with 19, 11 in the fourth.

Typically, Edwards plays the entire third, but on Thursday he picked up two quick fouls, which brought his total to four in the opening two minutes of the quarter. That meant the Wolves played most of the third without him as Finch sent Rob Dillingham in his place initially.

Finch had a lineup that included Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr. with Reid and Mike Conley after Randle scored 10 in the quarter to help them keep pace.

Randle off to a faster start

Randle scored eight points in regulation of Tuesday’s overtime victory. He double his output in the extra session to end with 16 points.

He got off to a better start Thursday by scoring 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. He was aggressive in taking to the ball to the rim and went to the line for three free throws.

The Wolves were also proficient in finding Gobert early at the rim for eight points. That amounted to a 35-30 Wolves lead after one quarter.

Defense again struggles early

New Orleans made it a game Tuesday because of its ability to outrun the Wolves in transition. It was also how the Pelicans made it a game again in the second quarter. They turned the game into a track meet, and that helped them erase a 10-point deficit in the second to tie the score 62-62 at the half. The Wolves went cold from the field and shot just 8 for 28 while New Orleans was 13 for 25. The Wolves had shot 52% in the first quarter.

Even after New Orleans gave the Wolves a wake-up call on Tuesday, they still didn’t come out with enough effort defensively.