NBA PRESEASON: Minnesota’s bench obliterates Guangzhou by 60 points

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Despite the absence of its star players, the Minnesota Timberwolves still pulled off a decisive win over Chinese pro team Guangzhou Loong-Lions, 134-74, in the ongoing NBA Preseason tournament on Oct. 14, 2025.

Due to a collective decision by the coaches, Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, and Donte DiVincenzo all sat out the game, leaving chief tactician Chris Finch with his young and athletic bench.

After the 48-minute exhibition game, Minnesota got the upper hand, blasting Guangzhou with the biggest win of the ongoing NBA preseason so far by a 60-point differential.

Rob Dillingham stole the spotlight during the lopsided win, top-scoring the Timberwolves with 27 points built from an efficient 10-of-14 shooting from the field including a perfect 4-of-4 from the three-point line.

Fresh off a 10-point outing against the New York Knicks, Dillingham took advantage of his longer playing minutes, schooling every Guangzhou defender thrown at him with his deep offensive bag.

The athletic two-way player also flashed his playmaking skills, tallying nine assists alongside two rebounds and two steals.

Guangzhou was still within striking distance after the first 12 minutes of action, but once the second quarter began, Minnesota started to steamroll its way into the game and swelled its advantage to 32 points at the end of the half.

The Chinese team fielded three former NBA players, led by former Indiana superstar Victor Oladipo, bruiser Frank Kaminsky, and guard Justin Holiday.

However, no matter what scoring display the trio produced, Minnesota’s bench mob proved to be too much, outscoring them in yet another one-sided quarter in the third, 31-14.

With the insurmountable lead to climb, Guangzhou raised the white flag early in the fourth and could only watch Johnny Juzang, Rocco Zikarsky, and Terrence Shannon run the show for the Western Conference squad.

The trio continued what Dillingham started and drained several haymakers midway through the fourth that ballooned their biggest lead of the ball game to 61 points.

Juzang was Minnesota’s second-best scorer with 17 points and five rebounds, while Zikarsky and Shannon chipped in 16 and 15 markers, respectively.

On the other hand, Oladipo led the Loong-Lions with 14 points, while Kaminsky posted an all-around outing of 10 markers, eight boards, and three blocks.