National Basketball Association
Washington 92, Minnesota 89
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #17 Jonathan Sterling, #15 Zach Zarba, #45 Brian Forte
Attendance: 13442

MINNEAPOLIS -- Needing to find ways to replace star point guard John Wall, the Washington Wizards know it will take more than one player stepping forward.

Washington's reserves answered the call Tuesday, and third-leading scorer Otto Porter finished out a big win.

Porter Jr. scored 22 points, including the go-ahead jump shot with 25 seconds remaining, to give the Wizards a come-from-behind, 92-89 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

"We have to just keep working on being a better team as we play these games without John," Washington coach Scott Brooks said. "Obviously we're not a better team, but we can be a better team without him while we're with the two weeks that we don't have him."

Porter scored 17 of his points in the second half as the Wizards (11-9) erased a 13-point deficit and won for the second time in six games. Leading scorer Bradley Beal was held to eight points on 2-of-11 shooting, but the bench was pivotal with Wall missing his second straight game because of an injured knee. He's expected to miss two weeks after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 16 points off the Wizards' bench and Jodie Meeks added 12 points, hitting 4 of 6 from 3-point territory. Washington's reserves outscored Minnesota's 49-11.

"They came in and played well for us," Porter said of the bench. "They gave us great energy. They were able to move the ball against them and play with pace, and we kind of fed with that energy in the second half."

Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and 17 rebounds for his league-leading 17th double-double for the Timberwolves (12-9). Jimmy Butler added 17 points and 10 assists, and Taj Gibson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota, which lost for the fourth time in six games.

Tyus Jones, making his second NBA start in place of injured Timberwolves point guard Jeff Teague, had season highs of 12 points and seven assists.

"You've got to be able to continue to move the ball and find a good shot," Jones said. "That's what we did kind of through three quarters and the fourth quarter it kind of got stagnant a little bit and we weren't moving as much on offense. But at the end of the day it falls on us on the defensive side."

Brooks leaned on his bench even in the final minutes as Oubre, Ian Mahinmi and Mike Scott were on the floor with Porter and Beal.

"Any games the bench got to come out and play aggressive," Mahinmi said. "That has to be a group of guys that boost; that gives a big boost for this team. We got a lot of live bodies. We get stops. We're running, a lot of energy. So, we've got to keep that up."

Scott hit a 3-pointer to tie the game 87-all before Porter hit his big shot to give Washington the lead. Butler grabbed two offensive rebounds on the other end, but Minnesota lost possession as the ball went out of bounds off Gibson's hands.

The Wolves starters all played at least 37:26 as the lead continually slipped away with the reserves in the game.

"When you're short-handed, and we're down two rotation players, we can't underestimate how hard we have to play the whole time to get that win," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "And if you get a lead you have to play tough with the lead. You can't play a loose game."

Porter, who entered the day fifth in the league in 3-point shooting at 48.6 percent, was 4 of 8 from deep.

"One of our best players is out," Porter said. "The whole team has to step up and do more."

NOTES: Minnesota PG Jeff Teague (sore right Achilles) and reserve F Nemanja Bjelica (left mid-foot sprain) were each held out for the third straight game. They are considered day-to-day. Teague worked out pregame to see if he could play before being announced as out. ... Washington plays its second game of a back-to-back Wednesday in Philadelphia. The Timberwolves' four-game homestand ended. Minnesota plays at New Orleans on Wednesday. ... Minnesota scored 30 points in the first quarter for the third time on the homestand and fifth time this season. ... Wolves C Karl-Anthony Towns joined Shaquille O'Neal, Bob McAdoo, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan as the only players with 4,000 points and 2,000 rebounds through their first 185 NBA games.
Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Minnesota
Otto Porter Jr. 22 Scoring Karl-Anthony Towns 20
Bradley Beal 6 Assists Jimmy Butler 10
Ian Mahinmi 8 Rebounds Karl-Anthony Towns 17
Bradley Beal 4 Free Throws Made Jimmy Butler 4
Kelly Oubre Jr. 2 Steals Jimmy Butler 1
Ian Mahinmi 2 Blocks Andrew Wiggins 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington 92 43.4 10-28 10-17 23 44 4 5 7
Minnesota 89 41.2 10-30 9-14 27 49 1 3 10
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .583 after a win and .556 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Wizards have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .556 after a loss.