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 The veteran forward was brought to Minnesota in August as part of
a three-team trade after seven years with Philadelphia to aid in
filling the void left in the starting lineup by the departure of
All-Star forward Kevin Love. While the comparisons to Love may be
unfair, Young has provided a much-needed scoring presence for the
Timberwolves in his first two games with his new team.
Young, one night after scoring 26 points in a season-opening loss to
the Memphis Grizzlies, hit a crucial 3-pointer with less than two
minutes remaining to help the Timberwolves fend off a fourth-quarter
rally by the Detroit Pistons for a 97-91 victory in their home
opener Thursday night.
"I think it was a huge shot, definitely helped us win the game, but
I think over the course of the years, fans have seen what I bring to
the table," Young said, trying to downplay his immediate impact.
"Tonight I continued to have it going and just play solid."
Detroit forward Caron Butler came off the bench to score a game-high
24 points. Reserve guard D.J. Augustin added 20 points, but it
wasn't enough to prevent the Pistons from falling to 0-2 on the
season.
 After holding a one-point lead at the half, the Timberwolves opened
the third quarter by outscoring the Pistons 23-7 in a seven-minute
stretch. Detroit slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting the
deficit to one point by the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
Butler fueled the Detroit rally with 16 points in the final quarter.
With Minnesota on the verge of letting the game slip away late,
guard Mo Williams hit an 18-foot jumper that was followed on the
next possession by Young's critical 3-pointer that kept the
Timberwolves in front for good.
Detroit's starters -- forwards Josh Smith and Kyle Singler, guards
Brandon Jennings and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and center Andre
Drummond -- combined for only 10 points in the second half.
Caldwell-Pope and Drummond wound up with 11 points, and Smith
contributed 10 points.
"Listen, we dug that hole," said Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. "I
mean we just absolutely melted down, hung our heads and basically
the group on the floor was willing to let the game go."
Detroit lost for the ninth consecutive time against Minnesota, with
its last win against the Timberwolves coming in the final game of
the 2009-10 regular season.
The Timberwolves' third-quarter burst came after the teams traded
baskets for much of a sluggish first half. Neither team held a lead
of more than four points before halftime.
Flip Saunders, who is back as Minnesota's head coach after his
original tenure ended in 2005, improved to 10-0 in home openers with
the Timberwolves.
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After losing a tightly contested game to the Grizzlies on Wednesday,
Saunders was pleased with the effort he got from his youthful team.
"We played hard, played aggressive, playing against a big guy like
Drummond inside who's a rebounding machine," Saunders said. "As I
told the guys, we built a lead by playing a certain way, playing the
right way."
Amid all of the hype surrounding him since arriving in Minnesota as
part of the Love trade, forward Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 overall
pick in the 2014 draft, came through at a key moment in his second
NBA game. He notched all eight of his points during the
Timberwolves' third-quarter scoring run.
"Seeing the ball go in the hoop one time, that got me going,"
Wiggins said. "It was exciting, from the introductions to the end.
It was exciting for me."
Rookie Zach LaVine, Minnesota's top draft pick, went scoreless in
five minutes of action during his NBA debut.
NOTES: Detroit F/C Greg Monroe sat out the second and last game of
his suspension, which was levied against him after he pleaded guilty
in September to a charge of driving while visually impaired. Monroe
is eligible to make his season debut Saturday in the Pistons' home
opener against the Brooklyn Nets. ... During the offseason, new
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy and Minnesota coach Flip Saunders
joined the San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich and the Los Angeles
Clippers' Doc Rivers as the four current NBA coaches who also hold
the title of president of basketball operations for their teams ...
G Kevin Martin returned to the Timberwolves lineup after sitting out
the season-opening loss at Memphis with an ankle injury ...
Minnesota C Ronny Turiaf was ruled inactive for the second
consecutive game due to a sore right hip.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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