“Defensively, it’s a really good lineup,” Divincenzo said. “Offensively, it’s a unique lineup because I think Jaden is an amazing initiator. You can’t really pressure him because he’s so long and athletic. He’ll go right by you. And then just the spacing and the movement with that lineup, it just gives us something different to play with throughout the season.”
The Wolves were ahead 91-88 entering the fourth, but they blitzed the Nets 34-21 to close the night.
Cam Thomas had 25 points for the Nets, 19 coming in the first half.
Multiple times last season, Randle flirted with a triple-double in the regular season without ever getting there. He had one game with 10 assists all last regular season but had seven rebounds in that one. In the three games in which he had nine assists, he had 10 rebounds or more. He did record a triple-double (24 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) in Game 3 of the second-round playoff series against Golden State.
Randle was stuck on nine assists for most of the second half, and it felt like one of those regular-season games.
“It was close, but shoutout to my guy Naz,” Randle said. “He came through in the clutch. I could see him in the corner of my eye. He was ready. So shoutout to him.”
