NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from the Minnesota Timberwolves blowout win over the Orlando Magic 

The Minnesota Timberwolves withstood a 40-point barrage in the first quarter by the visiting Orlando Magic to take a convincing 120-103 victory. The hosts started out slow but then amped up on defence which led to a massive turnaround, much to the delight of the fans at the Target Center in Minnesota.

Coming into this one, the T-Wolves had just dropped a couple to the Celtics and Pelicans and were desperate for a win at home. With this resilient show of quality defensive basketball, Minnesota have now won four of their last seven matchups, currently down at a dismal 13th spot in the West leaderboard with an 18-21 (0.462) to show. They are next in line to face the ailing LeBron-less Lakers side.

On the other hand, after losing four in a row, the Magic have now lost two of their previous five matchups. Having a 7-10 record on the road, their recent loss against the Timberwolves has pushed them 10.5 games below the East leaders, and the team with the best record in the NBA, in the Bucks. They are currently out of playoff contention down at the 10th spot holding a 17-21 (0.447) record next to their name.

Let's draw out some key takeaways from this come-from-behind win by the buoyant Timberwolves side over the slumping Orlando Magic.

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#1 Karl-Anthony Towns and Jeff Teague notch impressive double-doubles

Towns

is

on the path to be an All-Star for the second year in a row

After going through foul trouble in the first half, KAT came back to drop 21 points in the second half, leading the T-Wolves' second-half onslaught. He finished with a solid double-double of 29 points and 15 rebounds, along with a steal and a block on the defensive end.

"We came in here, at halftime, we said, `hey, we've got to change the game," Towns said. "We did that. In essence, we came in here and mostly slapped each other and said, `Wake up."

Teague contributed with nine points and four assists in the third period, not showing signs of any rustiness whatsoever in his return from injury. After missing out on nine games due to left ankle inflammation, Teague bounced back with a tough double-double of his own scoring 23 points and dishing out 10 dimes.

He shot an awe-inspiring 8-of-10 from the field and made all his three shots from downtown.

#2 Both teams shot equally well from the floor, but the T-Wolves outrebounded the Magic and took care of the FT line

Orlando Magic's FG percentage is not even in the top 20 in the league right now

As a collective unit, the Timberwolves shot 47-of-91 from the floor, bringing their conversion up to a blazing 51.6 percent in the night. The Magic were not far behind, as they converted 42-of-88 from the field as a unit, good enough for a 47.7 percent success rate. Both teams attempted almost the same number of three-point shots and managed to net nine of them.

What really made the difference was the monster rebounding put on display by Minnesota, as they outrebounded their opponents 54-35. KAT and Taj Gibson combined for 25 boards between them while Gorgui Dieng chipped with 11 rebounds of his own to seal the area for Orlando.

Both teams committed 20 personal fouls each, but the hosts netted 17 of their 23 free throws. In contrast, the Magic could only capitalise on 10 of the 19 FTs they were rewarded with.

The Timberwolves are currently top 10 in the league in terms of free-throw shooting percentage, and that really played to their benefit when Orlando was getting impatient on defence.

#3 Both Vucevic and Fournier contributed with 20+ point scores to no avail

Fournier and Vucevic have been Magic's top-scorers this season alongside Aaron Gordon

Nikola Vucevic finished with a team-high total of 22 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists in what was his fifth 20+ point performance in the previous six games. He shot a decent 10-of-16 from the floor but could only make one of his four attempts from deep.

Evan Fournier put together an imposing 21-point performance along with four dimes to his name, despite committing a team-high four turnovers. As Minnesota turned up their defensive intensity, the Magic missed 12 of their final 14 shots of the first half, subsequently shooting a miserable 7-of-23 in the third period.

"This game was ours to take, to be honest," Fournier said. "It was really ours. When you're up 20 on the road, you should be winning those games."

Although Vucevic put up a team-high total, he could only score eight points in the second half, as the Magic shot 26 of their first 34 shots (76.4 percent) from the field before downgrading to bad and eventually, worse.