76ers drop 83 1st-half points, dominate Timberwolves in 1st matchup since Jimmy Butler trade
Tuesday marked the first time the Philadelphia 76ers played the Minnesota Timberwolves since the Jimmy Butler trade.
It did not go well for the Timberwolves.
The Philadelphia 76ers roared out of the gate at home to an 83-58 halftime lead and cruised to a 149-107 win over Butler’s former team.
Embiid dominates Towns, outshines Butler
While the game’s focus was on Butler taking on his former teammates, Joel Embiid did the heavy lifting against Minnesota, logging 31 points, 13 rebounds and three assists while thoroughly outplaying his All-Star post counterpart Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns, one of the prime targets of Butler’s wrath prior to leaving Minnesota, was meek in comparison, tallying 13 points, three rebounds and two assists and an eye-popping minus-42 in the plus/minus column.
Butler was third on the 76ers in scoring with 19 points to go with three rebounds and four assists, while Ben Simmons tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
After the game, Butler, wearing warmups after getting some fourth-quarter rest, greeted some of his former teammates on the court with hugs.
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