Timberwolves hang on to beat depleted Pacers 114-110, after Edwards exits early with tight hamstring

MINNEAPOLIS AP Julius Randle had of his points in the first half and Rudy Gobert added points and rebounds helping the Minnesota Timberwolves hold on after an early exit by star Anthony Edwards to beat the depleted Indiana Pacers - on Sunday night Edwards was pulled with hamstring tightness but Donte DiVincenzo points held together the backcourt and Naz Reid points rebounds pitched in too After Pascal Siakam hit points for the Pacers on his -pointer with seconds left to cut their deficit to - Jaden McDaniels answered with a finger-roll to push the lead to four with seconds remaining Aaron Nesmith added points for the Pacers who are resigned to playing the season without Tyrese Haliburton and lost current leading scorer Bennedict Mathurin to a sprained toe the previous night in Memphis Andrew Nembhard the primary point guard while Haliburton recovers from the torn Achilles tendon that painfully ended his NBA Finals was out for the second straight tournament with a shoulder strain among seven players unavailable That left the Pacers - who lost their opener in double overtime to defending champion Oklahoma City with a starting lineup including journeyman Jay Huff little-used big man Isaiah Jackson and young guard Ben Sheppard The home opener hype in Minnesota with the rollout of stage-style lighting on the court and the return of the all-black uniforms with pine-tree trim worn during the Kevin Garnett era abated when Edwards went missing into the competition But as he watched from the bench in a gray hoodie and black shades the Wolves - took control by outscoring the Pacers - in the third quarter and drawing fouls while being whistled for only three that period Up next Indiana plays at Dallas on Wednesday Minnesota hosts Denver on Monday AP NBA https apnews com hub NBA Source