The Timberwolves look tired & 8 other things from Tuesday night’s games

Also, Kawhi is back!

The Timberwolves lost in overtime, 118-112, to a sluggish Sixers team that not only shot poorly, but didn’t see a bucket from Ben Simmons until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. If one thing stuck out for Minnesota, it was that the team looked exhausted despite the Sixers missing a key piece in Robert Covington, and the Wolves having their full unit.

Coach Tom Thibodeau is infamous for running his players into the ground, and it might be taking a toll on his team. Out of 53 possible minutes, Karl-Anthony Towns played 48 of them. Jimmy Butler played more than 45, Andrew Wiggins and Taj Gibson 40, and Jeff Teague 38. The Timberwolves went their usual eight players deep, and in overtime, that showed.

Teague fouled J.J. Redick on a crucial three-point attempt as he accidentally hit him in the face while trailing a step behind him around the arc. Ben Simmons was left wide open for an easy dunk shortly after. It felt as if the Wolves were steps slow. Part of the reason may have been that each Sixers starter played 40 or less minutes, while Minnesota’s stars crossed that mark before the overtime even started.

Players will never admit fatigue as a factor, but this is something worth watching.

Kristaps Porzingis crushed the Lakers

The Lakers took the Knicks to overtime, but New York prevailed, 113-109, behind a 37-point, 11-rebound and five-block effort from Porzingis. That’s never been done by a player who’s also hit five three-pointers.

No matter who tried to stay in front of him — Brandon Ingram, Brook Lopez, Kyle Kuzma — nobody could bother the unicorn, who made 14-of-26 attempts from the field

Lonzo Ball’s performance was noteworthy as well, with 17 points, eight rebounds and six rebounds. But his team couldn’t take down Porzingis.

Kawhi is back!

Leonard only played 15 minutes because of a minutes restriction, but scored 13 points (six in the first quarter on 3-of-3 shooting) on 12 attempts. He also grabbed six boards and looked Kawhi-like throughout.

This is great news for San Antonio, even though they lost, 95-89 to the Mavericks.

More:

• Lonzo Ball has beef with Nas
• The Pacers' GM is wonderfully petty 'liking' tweets about the Paul George trade
• LaVar Ball had a meeting with Lakers management to tone down his team criticisms
• Kawhi Leonard had a perfect 1st quarter in his season debut
• LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball’s Lithuanian contracts may only be for one month
• A commentator really sang to LiAngelo, LaMelo, and LaVar Ball to welcome them to Lithuania

Scores

Cavaliers 123, Hawks 114 (Fear the Sword recap | Peachtree Hoops recap)

Nuggets 103, Pistons 84 (Denver Stiffs recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)

Knicks 113, Lakers 109 (Posting and Toasting recap | Silver Screen and Roll recap)

Nets 103, Wizards 98 (Nets Daily recap | Bullets Forever recap)

Mavericks 95, Spurs 89 (Mavs Moneyball recap | Pounding the Rock recap)

Sixers 118, Timberwolves 112 (Liberty Ballers recap | Canis Hoopus recap)

Kings 99, Suns 92 (Sactown Royalty recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)