Minnesota @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Washington 130, Minnesota 135

The Minnesota Timberwolves are willing to fight, but having those fights lead to wins would be preferred. The Timberwolves will not have Karl-Anthony Towns available when they try to avoid a second consecutive setback while visiting the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

Towns and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid got tangled up and exchanged blows during a scrum in the third quarter of Minnesota's 117-95 loss on Wednesday, and both were handed two-game suspensions by the NBA. "I think the message we're sending is we’re going to compete and fight for everything that we deserve in this league," Timberwolves president Gersson Rosas told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Sometimes you have to defend yourself, and last night was an example of that." The Wizards showed some fight of their own on Wednesday but fell one basket short in the highest-scoring one-point game in NBA history, a 159-158 home loss to the Houston Rockets. "We play hard, and we have a lot of enthusiasm on the court," Washington coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "Guys were flying all over the place. That's a championship-level team (with) two MVPs. We couldn't get an important stop or defend the play without fouling. But, like I said, nothing to be ashamed of our effort."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), NBCS Washington

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (3-1): Minnesota averaged 121.3 points in winning each of the first three games but slumped to 95 points in the loss at Philadelphia and Towns suggested that part of his frustration was due to the team struggling to play within its offensive system. Towns' teammates echoed that thought but were quick to point out that the Timberwolves' fight was a good sign. "It's just our attitude, man," reserve guard Josh Okogie told the Star Tribune. "We're not going to be run over. We didn't want the outcome we have. But we're going to be tough."

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (1-3): Washington star guard Bradley Beal scored 46 points on 14-of-20 shooting in Wednesday's loss and wanted people to know that his team is there to fight as well. "We compete and we play hard," Beal told reporters. "We have a lot of versatile guys in here, a lot of threats, a lot of 3-point shooters, a lot of scorers, period. We're going to compete. We're not going to back down from anybody, regardless of who's on the floor or what the score is." The Wizards shot 62.6 percent from the floor in the setback and went 20-of-36 from beyond the arc.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Timberwolves SF Robert Covington is 3-of-16 from 3-point range over the last three games.

2. Washington reserve PG Isaiah Thomas collected 17 points and 10 assists on Wednesday for his first double-double of the campaign.

3. Towns averaged 34 points and 12.5 rebounds as the teams split two meetings last season.

PREDICTION: Wizards 116, Timberwolves 109