Timberwolves without 5 players at Mavericks Tuesday due to COVID-19 protocols
Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket against Khem Birch #24 of the Orlando Magic during the second quarter of the game at Target Center on January 20, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without five players for Tuesday night's game at the Dallas Mavericks as more players enter the NBA's health and safety protocols for COVID-19.
The Timberwolves will be without Patrick Beverley, Anthony Edwards, Taurean Prince, Josh Okogie and Jarred Vanderbilt agains the Mavericks. Edwards and Prince missed last Friday's win over the L.A. Lakers, and Sunday's win over Dallas due to COVID-19 issues.
NBA protocols state players must remain in quarantine for 10 days before returning to their teams, unless they can produce consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
KAT NAMED WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns is the Western Conference Player of the Week after leading the team to three straight wins and back to .500 at 15-15.
It’s his fifth career weekly award, and first since 2019. He joins Kevin Garnett as the only players in franchise history to get it at least five times. Towns is the only player in the NBA this season to average more than 20 points while shooting better than 50 percent from the field, and 40 percent from the perimeter.
He’s currently 12th in the NBA in scoring (24.4 points per game) and 17th in rebounding at nine per game.
The Wolves are 15-15 after beating the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night, which marks the second-best 30-game start since the 2006-07 season. In last week’s 124-107 win over the Nuggets, Towns had 32 points and became the second player in franchise history to score 10,000 career points.
Towns had 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks Friday in a win over the L.A. Lakers. Sunday, he had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a win over the Mavericks.
The Timberwolves can get above .500 with a win at the Mavericks Tuesday night.