Sixers fall to Minnesota Timberwolves while playing without Joel Embiid

MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns clutched his head in disbelief that his shot attempt had been swatted out of bounds by Paul Reed.

But then the Minnesota Timberwolves star big man spun on Nicolas Batum for a two-handed dunk. And then slung a behind-the-back pass to teammate Nickeil Alexander-Walker for the corner three-pointer in front of the 76ers bench. And then elevated for a block on the Sixers’ De’Anthony Melton, which turned into a fastbreak layup by Alexander-Walker to give Minnesota a game-high 21-point lead with less than six minutes remaining.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse said recent games have been full of learning experiences as he continues to get to know his new team. There will surely be plenty of teaching moments from their first outing of the season played without reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid, a 112-99 defeat at the Target Center during which they fell into an early hole against Minnesota’s Twin (City) Towers and were ultimately doomed by poor shooting percentages from the field (39.1%) and three-point range (7-of-32) against the league’s most efficient defense.

“Most of [those three-point attempts] were ones I wouldn’t want us turning down,” Nurse said. “And against this team, you’re going to have to make a better percentage of those, because you’re going to have to shoot over the top of them from distance.”

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Embiid, the NBA’s leading scorer entering Wednesday at 31.9 points per game, was sidelined with left hip soreness that he has been dealing with for more than a week. The Sixers (10-5) were also on the second night of a back-to-back set, and coming off an overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night.

That the superstar center missed Wednesday was an even greater disadvantage, given the Timberwolves’ big starting lineup featuring Towns (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (13 points, 11 rebounds).

The 6-foot-8 Marcus Morris Sr., who had played sparingly since he was acquired as part of the blockbuster James Harden trade, stepped in as the Sixers’ unconventional starter at center. Nurse said he chose Morris to give the Sixers five floor-spacers — and to finally get an extended in-game look at the veteran.

Morris initially lasted just three minutes because he picked up two fouls. But he later provided an offensive burst in the third quarter — including two three-pointers, a driving and-1 layup and a pull-up jumper — and finished the game with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, four rebounds, and two assists in 16 minutes.

“I was just trying to get accustomed to everything,” said Morris, adding he found out Wednesday morning he would start. “But I just told myself, ‘Man, just keep moving the ball. Keep moving bodies, and keep screening and just making things easy. I’m a vet, 13 years, so I know how to play the game. I was excited to just get an opportunity to play.”

Around Morris, the Sixers tried various combinations of Reed, Batum, Tobias Harris, and Robert Covington to guard the Timberwolves’ imposing frontcourt players. Nurse was pleased with how the Sixers out-rebounded Minnesota, 49-47, including a 17-10 edge on the offensive glass. Reed, who finished with 10 points, nine rebounds (six offensive) and two steals, compared guarding Towns to a boxing match.

“He’s throwing elbows, throwing punches with his off arm,” Reed said. “He was attacking. I’ll give him credit, he’s a good shooter. But he was getting to the rim and he was being aggressive all night. Just containing him and having to deal with all of the elbows and the jabs he was throwing on the offensive end, I think that was the most challenging part.”

The Timberwolves, who moved to 7-0 at home this season and 11-3 overall, stretched an eight-point halftime lead to 14, when Towns scored over Morris and Gobert backed down Harris and converted the old-fashioned three-point play. That lead later extended to 86-71 on a pair of free throws by former Sixer Shake Milton. All-Star wing Anthony Edwards was Minnesota’s most consistently explosive offensive player, totaling 31 points, six rebounds, and six assists.

Four of the Sixers’ five starters finished in double figures, led by Tyrese Maxey’s 16 points, eight assists, and five rebounds and Melton’s 16 points and six rebounds.

That Towns found Gobert for an alley-oop slam on the Timberwolves’ first possession set the tone for an ugly first quarter for the Sixers, who trailed by as many as 19 points in the frame.

“We did a lot of good things tonight,” Nurse said. “Obviously, the start was not one of them.”

The Sixers made just eight of their 22 field goal attempts and committed seven turnovers that Minnesota parlayed into 13 points. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, made 60% of their shots in the period, and held a 9-0 advantage in fastbreak points and a 14-5 edge in bench points.

“There’s just not a whole lot of defense for [those turnovers],” Nurse said, “and they were getting a lot of run-outs and easy buckets. That was it.”

Though Towns’ and Gobert’s stat lines were not eye-popping — they both had four points on 2-of-4 shooting and four rebounds — backup big man Naz Reid contributed seven points and three steals off the bench. Edwards also quickly compiled 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists.

But the Sixers answered by outsourcing the Timberwolves 29-20 in the second quarter. Melton and Harris (15 points, six rebounds) paced the surge, scoring 22 of those points to slice what was a 17-point deficit at the start of the frame to 44-41 on two Harris free throws at the 4:12 mark.

Minnesota answered with a 13-8 run — fueled by a Towns driving layup and reverse finish through contact — to lead 57-49 at the break.

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Former Timberwolves Covington and Patrick Beverley received warm receptions in their return with the Sixers.

A fan behind the Sixers’ bench held up a “Minnesota loves (using a heart shape) PatBev” sign for Beverley, who played in Minnesota during the 2021-22 season. Covington, who was part of the Jimmy Butler trade, got a strong ovation when he entered the game in the first quarter.