The Minnesota Timberwolves improved to 2-0 in preseason play. They dismantled the Guangzhou Loong-Lions 134-74 on Monday night at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Rob Dillingham led the charge for the hosts. He finished with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-4 from deep, plus nine assists in 28 minutes.
The Timberwolves jumped out early in the first quarter. They built a 30-20 lead behind Leonard Miller’s seven points and Joan Beringer’s six.
Dillingham dished three assists in the opening frame. His feeds set up Miller’s finger roll and Beringer’s putback dunk just before the buzzer.
Victor Oladipo paced the visitors with five points in the period. Frank Kaminsky added six, including a putback layup, but turnovers plagued Guangzhou early.
The Wolves pulled away late in the quarter. Johnny Juzang’s back-to-back threes off Dillingham passes capped a 16-2 run to end the frame at 30-20.
The second quarter saw Minnesota extend their edge to 68-36 at halftime. Dillingham heated up with 13 points in the period alone.
He drained a 24-footer early, then converted free throws after fouls on Yancheng Liu. Shannon Jr. added eight points, including two threes.
Hyland notched seven assists before sitting. His passes connected Miller for a layup and Shannon for a pull-up three.
Oladipo scored eight in the quarter for Guangzhou. Tim Frazier added four, but the Loong-Lions shot just 33 percent from the field.
Juzang tallied 11 points off the bench in the half. His step-back three pushed the lead to 26-16 midway through.
The third quarter turned into a rout. Minnesota outscored Guangzhou 31-14, with Dillingham adding 10 more points.
He hit a step-back jumper early, then a deep three off Hyland’s assist. Shannon drained a running three to make it 73-36.
Enrique Freeman swished a three at the buzzer. That sent Minnesota to the fourth up 99-50.
The final frame belonged to the reserves. Juzang exploded for 15 points, including three threes and a cutting layup.
Zikarsky scored 16 overall, with 10 in the period on dunks and a hook. Bernard added 11 points, mostly free throws and layups.
Deonte Burton led Guangzhou’s bench with eight points and four steals. Oladipo finished with 14 points in 28 minutes, his most active stint.
Frazier tallied eight points and three assists. King matched that output off the pine, but the team committed 18 turnovers.
Kaminsky ended with 10 points and three blocks in 23 minutes. Li Xiangbo scored just one point on free throws in 18 minutes.
For Minnesota, Miller grabbed 11 boards to go with 15 points. Shannon matched Dillingham’s scoring total at 15.
Beringer pulled down 10 rebounds. Hyland dished seven assists despite zero points on 0-of-5 shooting.
Juzang’s 17 points led the bench. Zikarsky’s 16 included efficient 6-of-7 shooting.
Bernard scored 11 in 14 minutes. Freeman added eight points and six boards.
The Timberwolves dominated inside with 60 points in the paint. They outrebounded Guangzhou 52-25 and assisted on 67 buckets.
Guangzhou shot 33.3 percent from the field and 16.1 percent from three. Minnesota connected on 51.5 percent of threes.
