Minnesota Timberwolves vs Indiana Pacers Box Score on Dec 31, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 31, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS -- Two teams headed in opposite directions stuck to recent form Sunday as the surging Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the slumping Indiana Pacers 107-90 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Timberwolves (23-14) scored the game's initial 17 points and never relinquished control to win for the sixth time in seven games. The Pacers (19-18), in their third game without injured leading scorer Victor Oladipo, matched their longest losing skid at four.

Shooting guard Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 26 points, center Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 and forward Taj Gibson added 17 for the Timberwolves, who led by double digits after each quarter. Towns also grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds.

The one-sided start was in stark contrast to the last time these teams met on Oct. 24 at Minnesota, where the Pacers set a franchise record for field-goal percentage (.667) in a 130-107 road victory.

Minnesota put the game away with a 38-20 third quarter to take an 87-58 lead entering the final quarter.

Oladipo, the NBA's eighth-leading scorer at 24.9 points per game, is out with a sore right knee. He has been sorely missed, not just to make shots but create offensive opportunities for his teammates.

Oladipo's replacement, Lance Stephenson, made just 2 of 9 shots and finished with five points.

Third-year reserve guard Joe Young led the Pacers with a career-high 20 points. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 13 points for Indiana, and Cory Joseph added 10.

NOTES: Indianapolis native Jeff Teague, who signed with the Timberwolves after playing for the Pacers last season, was disappointed about not being able to play against his former team in his hometown, so much so that he dressed for warm-ups. The point guard averaging 13.4 points per game missed his second straight game with a sprained left MCL and is out indefinitely. ... Minnesota has won five of six on the road. ... In his first start for SG Victor Oladipo on Wednesday, Lance Stephenson had his first double-double of the season, including a career-high 15 rebounds. He then matched his season high with 18 points in his second start, a Friday loss at Chicago. He led the Pacers in rebounding the previous three games. ... The Pacers lead the NBA in 3-point field-goal percentage (.385) and are 15-5 when making 10 3-pointers in a game, but have lost the last two games at home despite making 10 3-pointers.