Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves sloppiness costs them in Phoenix

The Timberwolves looked sloppy and uninterested for much of their Sunday afternoon matinee to the Phoenix Suns, and it resulted in a loss.

The first three quarters showed some uninspired play from the Wolves starters. The fourth quarter saw Zach LaVine and the bench play much better, but they were unable to get the win.

It seemed as though the blown lead and overtime loss from Friday definitely effected the Wolves psyche. For the most part they looked very uninterested in playing today’s game.

The Suns started out a little slow in the first quarter, as Brandon Knight struggled to find a rhythm. However, Alex Len was aggressive down low and that gave Karl-Anthony Towns two quick fouls.

With Towns on the bench, Gorgui Dieng was called to the floor a little earlier than usual. Even though Knight had nine first quarter points the Wolves were leading 27-25 at the end of the first.

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The Suns jumped out on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter which put them back in front. The Wolves turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, and this aided in the Suns lead.

The Wolves also had 15 personal fouls, translating to 17 Suns free throw attempts. Foul trouble led to a lack of physicality and the free throw attempts only padded the Suns lead. However, the Suns were equally undisciplined, giving the Wolves 24 chances at the line. This kept the Wolves hanging around, and at half the Suns were leading 55-49.

Phoenix started the second half on an offensive hot streak, but is was consistently matched by the Wolves on the other end. The Suns were able to capitalize on the Wolves sloppy play, opening up their biggest lead mid-way through the third. The Wolves continued to look terribly sloppy and uninterested the rest of the quarter. Heading into the fourth, Phoenix was leading 85-66.

As the fourth quarter commenced the Wolves mainly stuck with their second unit through most of the period. The second unit was able to play with some fire, and they brought the Phoenix lead down to single digits.

The bench was able to give the Wolves a chance as the fourth quarter winded down. In the end, the Suns were able to hold off the energized Wolves bench with the final score being 108-101.

As well as the bench played in the fourth quarter they were unable to make up for the poorly played first three quarters from the Wolves. Ultimately, it was Minnesota’s 25 total turnovers, and the Suns 43 points off those turnovers that did the Wolves in.

Tweet of the Afternoon

Star of the Afternoon

Alex Len – 18 points (5-10 FG, 8-8 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

Len gets the Star of the Afternoon because he was the one that was able to give the Suns some offensive rhythm in an ugly first half. He was physical against Karl-Anthony Town and Towns picked up two early fouls.

Throughout the rest of the game Towns was less aggressive because of the foul trouble. This all started with Len being physical, and he played a big role in Phoenix’s victory this afternoon.

Other Notable Lines

Zach LaVine – 28 points (10-19 FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists

Kevin Martin – 19 points (5-12 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 assist

Damjan Rudez – 11 points (4-6 FG), 1 assists

Brandon Knight – 25 points (9-19 FG), 6 assists, 4 steals

Up Next

The Wolves head back to Minnesota for a match-up with the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. As we all remember, the Wolves blew an 18-point lead to the Nuggets last Friday but did blow the Nuggets out in the second game of the season.

Next: Making Sense Of Sam Mitchell

This time, they will get the Nuggets at home and will look for revenge for last Friday night’s loss. In the meantime, look for a preview of that game as well as additional coverage here at DWW on Monday.