Beasley is one 3-pointer away from setting Timberwolves record

Malik Beasley is scorching hot from downtown.

Minnesota’s fifth-year guard out of Florida State has nailed multiple 3-pointers in 10 consecutive games, and he’s drained 4+ 3-pointers in half of those contests.

Beasley sunk four 3-pointers in consecutive games against Golden State, going off for 30 points Monday and adding 25 on Wednesday. It marked his second career game with 30+ points and his first in Minnesota.

With two games remaining before the calendar flips to February, Beasley has already tied a Timberwolves franchise record with 42 3-pointers in the month of January.

Robert Covington (2019-20) and Isaiah Rider (1994-95) also collected 42 3-pointers in January. But neither player was as efficient getting there as Beasley.

In 13 contests, Beasley has attempted 101 3-pointers (7.8 per game) and is making them at a 41.2% clip. His best game was Jan. 9 when he cashed in 7 of 11 3-point attempts against San Antonio.

January of 2020 was Covington’s last full month with the Wolves before he was shipped off to Houston, but he exited in style. Covington nailed 42 of 114 attempts from 3-point range (36.8%), draining 3+ triples in eight of 15 contests. He tossed in six 3-pointers on 10 attempts against Sacramento on Jan. 27, 2020.

Most basketball fans think of the Eastbay Funk Dunk when thinking of J.R. Rider. But the Wolves’ first-round pick in 1993 could splash from deep, too. Rider ranks seventh in franchise history with 3-point makes (295), and sixth in 3-point attempts (821). In January 1995, Rider made 42 of 125 attempts from 3-point range (33.9%).

The all-time Wolves record for most 3s in any month is 53, set by Zach LaVine in December of 2016-17. Beasley needs a combined 12 3-pointers against Philadelphia on Friday and Cleveland on Sunday to shatter LaVine’s single-month record.

Minnesota will need Beasley to get hot again against the 76ers, who have won six straight meetings between these teams since 2015-16 and seven of the last nine.

Another key to victory for the Timberwolves will be jumping out to a good start, as Philadelphia is a perfect 7-0 this season when leading at halftime.

Joel Embiid has been a force to be reckoned with in 2020-21, racking up 27.7 points per game and logging a true shooting percentage of 66.7%. Minnesota will be without Karl-Anthony Towns on Friday for the seventh straight game, meaning the duties of stopping Embiid will largely fall on Naz Reid.

Reid, coming off a career-best five blocks Wednesday night, is averaging 15.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game over the last five contests.

The game between Minnesota and Philadelphia will be aired on FOX Sports North, with “Wolves Live” beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Statistics courtesy Sportradar, basketball-reference.com