Julius Randle stars for Wolves in win over Pacers after Edwards exits

The Target Center was juiced in the opening minutes for Minnesota s home opener Sunday against Indiana Full-team athlete introductions the return of the ever popular trees in Minnesota s floor and jerseys and a new lights system set the mood for an electric vibe that Minnesota s play reflected in the opening minutes as the Wolves jumped out to a - lead Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards sits on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball challenge against the Indiana Pacers Sunday Oct in Minneapolis AP Photo Abbie Parr But then Anthony Edwards left the match with hamstring tightness and didn t return And Minnesota went into a multi-quarter lull Minnesota trailed Indiana at the half Mind you the Pacers were without Tyrese Haliburton Andrew Nembhard TJ McConnell and Benedict Mathurin And they lost Obi Toppin in the first half to another injury The Pacers were wiped off the floor a night earlier in Memphis And yet they were going punch for punch with the Wolves Thankfully for Minnesota it had Julius Randle The gang s usual No scoring option put on his Batman cape Sunday to save the Wolves from impending catastrophe Indiana didn t have anyone who could hold up to Randle s physicality which allowed the forward to get to his spots every time down the floor When that s the scenario Randle is nearly impossible to stop He had points and six assists to power Minnesota to a - mastery It was a calm place to go Timberwolves coach Chris Finch declared of the forward s hands The contest nearly slipped away from Minnesota late as the Pacers generated one good look after another to stick around and keep the match close But Minnesota uncovered enough points when it needed it A Mike Conley-Rudy Gobert pick and roll ended in a Gobert flush Jaden McDaniels scored at the rim amid a little chaos Gobert finished with points and rebounds while Naz Reid added points and rebounds off the bench The Wolves have much to still figure out They ve been largely unimpressive through three games for a organization that was expected to hit the ground running But Minnesota is still - through the struggles