MINNEAPOLIS -- Sixers head coach Brett Brown said the Timberwolves are "a lot further ahead" of his team "for all the obvious reasons."
The key reason: A continuity his stars are just starting to develop.
Minnesota's top three young players, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, have played a combined 436 career games. The Sixers' top three young players, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Ben Simmons, have played just 72, with Simmons yet to make his NBA debut because of injury.
"It's not a lack of respect or a disservice to our guys at all," Brown said of his assessment. "It's just part of the evaluation of where they're at. They're two years ahead of us."
Towns and Wiggins have won the past two Rookie of the Year awards and combined for 60 points and 20 rebounds on 26 for 38 shooting, leading the Timberwolves to a 110-86 win over the Sixers on Thursday night at the Target Center (see Instant Replay). Minnesota pulled away by outscoring the Sixers 34-15 in the second quarter, with Wiggins accounting for 11 points.
It was part of his eighth game this season with at least 25 points. The 2014-15 Rookie of the Year has averaged 33 points over his past six games and has shot 55.5 from three-point range on the year.
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"The freedom that (Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau) is giving him to grow -- really all three of those young guys -- but Andrew especially, is intimidating," Brown said. "He's delivering in many ways, you know, isolation being one of the key things, but he can create his own shot."
Embiid played with Wiggins for one season at the University of Kansas and praised his ex-teammate, noting his shotmaking ability. The 22-year-old rookie played just over 22 minutes in his eighth career game, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double.
"Somehow he tripped on a double-double, and I don't even know how," Brown said.
Guard Gerald Henderson, who was critical of the Sixers' activity level earlier this week, said the team did not sustain its energy and effort a night after defeating the Wizards at home. He pointed to the second quarter as a turning point in the game but wasn't ready to coronate the Timberwolves, despite their young talent.
"They're 4-7," Henderson said. "They played good tonight. They're not killing the game, but they played good tonight. They got some good, talented young players and they know how to score the basketball."