Timberwolves vs. Sixers at a glance

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. 76ers at a Glance

TEAMS:  Timberwolves (11-23) vs. Sixers (8-24)

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE:  Wells Fargo Center

BROADCASTS: TV – CSN RADIO – 97.5 FM

SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE:  TWITTER – @PompeyOnSixers, INSTAGRAM – PompeyOnSixers

411 ON TIMBERWOLVES:  There was a lot of optimism surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves heading into this season. But while they are a talented, the Timberwolves lack experience. That came into play late in several of their games.

Minnesota is 9-11 in games where they held double-digits leads. They have also lost four of their last six games overall.

But they should be the team of the future with your cornerstones in Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine.

Third-year swingman Wiggins was the 2014-15 rookie of the year. Towns, a second-year center, was named rookie of the year last season. And third-year guard LaVine is the two-time defending slam dunk champion.

PROBABLE STARTERS

TIMBERWOLVES (11-23)

22 Andrew Wiggins SF 6-8 22.1 ppg. 4.2 rpg.

5  Gorgui Dieng PF 6-11 10.4 ppg 7.8 rpg.

32 Karl-Anthony Towns C 7-0 21.5 ppg. 11.5 rpg.

8 Zach LaVine SG 6-5  20.9 ppg. 3.1 apg.

9 Ricky Rubio  PG 6-4  7.1  ppg. 7.2 apg.

Coach: Tom Thibodeau (sixth season, 266-162)

Injury report:  Nikola Pekovic (recurring pain in his right ankle, out).

SIXERS (8-24)

33 Robert Covington SF 6-9  10.0 ppg. 1.6 spg.

7 Ersan Ilyasova PF 6-10 14.5 ppg. 6.4 rpg.

21 Joel Embiid C 7-2 18.7 ppg. 2.38 bpg.

11 Nik Stauskas SG 6-6  9.3 ppg. 2.6 rpg.

1 T.J. McConnell PG 6-2 4.2 ppg. 4.7 apg.

Coach: Brett Brown (Fourth season, 55-223)

Injury report: Ben Simmons (right foot fracture, out), Jerryd Bayless, (left wrist ligament tear, out), Richaun Holmes (concussion, out), Gerald Henderson (left hip pain, probable), Sergio Rodriguez (left ankle sprain, out).

THE SERIES

The Timberwolves own a 29-23 series advantage. They won seven of the last 10 series meetings.

LAS VEGAS LINE

Timberwolves are a 4-point favorite

LAST SERIES MEETING:   The nationally televised matchup between the 76ers and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 17 was supposed to be a showcase of elite young big men Embiid and Towns.

In reality, the TNT audience witnessed just how far ahead the youthful Timberwolves were from the Sixers.

Minnesota dominated things from the start en route to a 110-86 victory at the Target Center.

Things were so lopsided that at one point, the Sixers had 24 points and trailed by 20. They trailed by 61-33 at the half. The 33 points were their lowest halftime output of the season.

Yes, it was one of those nights.

The matchup between Towns and Embiid never really materialized. Towns was paired up against Sixers power forwards for most of the game. Dieng and reserve Cole Aldrich defended Embiid and Sixers reserve center Jahlil Okafor mostly. Embiid faced Towns a handful of times.

Wiggins finished with a game-high 35 points on 14-of-20 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and four assists.

Towns added 25 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks for his sixth double-double of the season.

Wiggins scored on turnaround fadeaways, three-pointers, putbacks and dunks. Towns converted layups, driving hook shots, putbacks and even a three-pointer. His highlight came when he got Embiid to jump on a pump fake in the fourth quarter. Towns blew past him, drove the lane, and delivered a rim-rattling, one-handed dunk.

Dario Saric led the Sixers with 16 points in a reserve role. Embiid finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a block for his second straight double-double and his third of the season. The big man, however, became noticeably frustrated. He even had to be separated from Adreian Payne after the Timberwolves reserve knocked him to the floor on a play with 7 minutes, 51 seconds left. Payne was whistled for a technical foul.

 UPCOMING GAMES

Friday: 7:30 p.m., at T.D. Garden, Sixers vs. Boston Celtics

Sunday: 12 p.m., at Barclays Center, Sixers vs. Brooklyn Nets

Jan. 11: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Sixers vs. New York Knicks

Jan. 13:  7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Charlotte Hornets vs. Sixers

Jan. 14:  8 p.m., at Verizon Center, Sixers vs. Washington Wizards

Follow and contact 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.