Timberwolves Survive Late Scare, Raptors Thrive With Ingram, Mavericks Lose Exum for Entire Season
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Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves built a 27-point cushion against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday but needed a late push to secure the win after the lead shrank to five in the fourth quarter. Forward Anthony Edwards continued his shooting slump, finishing 6-for-20 from the field and 1-for-8 from long range, making him 3-for-30 on three-pointers over his last four games. Minnesota was without injured forward Jaden McDaniels.
Big-money offseason additions Julius Randle and Naz Reid provided the early spark, combining for 60 points and 15 rebounds. “We got lucky, to be honest,” Randle said, adding that the team lost its aggressiveness after halftime. Reid concurred, noting that despite Washington’s record “it’s still an NBA team.”
Reid has found his form of late, averaging 20.3 points and 8.8 rebounds over the past four contests while shooting 55.2 percent overall and 48.3 percent from three. “He’s a starter coming off the bench for us,” guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “One of the best bigs in the league.”
Raptors
Toronto’s gamble on Brandon Ingram — a first-round pick in trade plus a three-year, $120 million extension while he missed all of 2024-25 — is paying dividends. Ingram is averaging 20.9 points and 3.9 assists on 49.6 percent shooting, helping the Raptors start 10-5 with nine wins in their last 10 outings. The club has climbed to seventh in offensive rating after finishing 26th a year ago.
“Teams know how dangerous he is,” forward Scottie Barnes said. “Once he gets to his spots, it’s unstoppable.” Barnes is also turning heads; according to Sportsnet, only Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Garnett and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have ever matched his current blend of points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals for an entire season. Barnes is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 38.9 percent from deep.
The upcoming schedule remains favorable with matchups against Washington, Brooklyn, Indiana and Charlotte.
Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks announced that guard Dante Exum will undergo surgery on his right knee and miss the entire 2025-26 season, ending his year before it began. The 29-year-old had not appeared this fall due to complications from an offseason procedure, another setback in a career marred by injuries that include a torn ACL as well as ankle, shoulder, wrist and hand issues.
Exum shot 51.6 percent from the floor and 47.2 percent from three-point range last season, carving out a key role when healthy. The Mavericks never revealed the offseason surgery publicly and had to stretch Olivier-Maxence Prosper’s $3 million salary to create hard-cap space for Exum’s minimum deal. With limited guard depth behind Kyrie Irving, the move was considered risky.
Dallas could waive Exum to open a roster spot, but without additional cap relief the club cannot sign a replacement until January unless another cost-cutting transaction occurs.
Source: Hoops Wire
