NEW ORLEANS – Timberwolves point guards Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose sat out again Monday night because of their injured left ankles. Teague missed his eighth consecutive game while Rose missed his second in a row.
"They're both improving," coach Tom Thibodeau said before his team faced the New Orleans Pelicans. "They're just day to day."
The Wolves play again Wednesday in Boston before returning home Friday for a game against Orlando.
High praise for Towns
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry certainly took note of Karl-Anthony Towns' performance Sunday night against the Heat. Gentry had no trouble reeling off Towns' impressive stat line during his pregame media availability Monday.
"Thirty-four points, 18 rebounds, seven assists, six blocked shots," Gentry said. "That's as good as any player in this league.
"He's probably playing to me his best basketball since he came into the league."
Davis out, Okafor in
New Orleans star Anthony Davis was a late scratch for Monday's game because of illness. In his place, Jahlil Okafor started for the Pelicans, only Okafor's third start of the season.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft by Philadelphia — selected two places after Towns — the 6-11, 23-year-old Okafor came in averaging only 7.7 minutes, 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game with his third NBA team.
