Timberwolves fans witnessed something they don’t normally see in the team’s home opener Sunday night against Indiana.
It wasn’t just the throwback court or the classic black tree uniforms. It was Anthony Edwards sitting on the bench out of uniform for most of the night. Edwards, who has never played fewer than 72 games in a season, exited after only three minutes in the first quarter because of what the team called right hamstring tightness. After heading to the locker room, he reemerged in a sweatsuit and sunglasses to sit on the bench.
The Wolves got contributions up and down the roster to fill in for Edwards in a 114-110 victory. Julius Randle led the way by picking up the scoring load with 31 points. He added six assists. Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 18 rebounds and was 6-for-7 from the field, while Naz Reid shook off two bad games on the road to post 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wolves held a small lead most of the night, with Indiana pulling within 110-108 with 42.1 seconds left. But Jaden McDaniels got loose for a layup that put the Wolves up four with 20 seconds, and that was enough.
Wolves star Anthony Edwards sits on the bench out of uniform in the second quarter after being pulled from Sunday night's game only minutes in. (Carlos Gonzalez)
Even though Indiana was coming in shorthanded and missing key contributors such as Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell, the Wolves knew they would still have a game on their hands. The Pacers have a fast-paced style of play that gives the Wolves fits, and the Pacers [came into Target Center last season shorthanded and won](https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-timberwolves-lose-indiana-pacers-overtime/601238177).
That became more complicated when Edwards went out 3 minutes, 8 seconds into the game because of right hamstring soreness. Bones Hyland checked into the game, and the Wolves played through Randle on offense. He had 20 points in the first half on 7-for-11 shooting. Pascal Siakam had 16 points for Indiana in the first half, which ended with the Wolves down 60-58.
In the third quarter, others got involved for the Wolves. Gobert, who was an afterthought offensively in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, had seven points and eight rebounds in the third quarter, and Donte DiVincenzo scored six points in the quarter as the Wolves led 86-77 after the third.
DiVincenzo finished with 17 points.