Timberwolves Wrap: A close, late win in New Orleans

The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 14 points to the Pelicans in New Orleans on Saturday night, but pulled out the win on a pair of Andrew Wiggins free throws in the final seconds.

The Wolves probably should have won much more easily, as Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis sat the game out with a foot strain that he suffered in warm-ups while compensating for the knee strain on the opposite leg that was injured in New Orleans’ last game.

But alas, the Wolves seemed to be a bit out of rhythm for much of the game. It was almost as if having two consecutive off days threw them off after being accustomed to playing games with only one day off in between outings.

The offense, which had the best offensive rating in the league in the month of February, sputtered for most of the affair. The defense was miserable throughout.

But for stretches in the third quarter and during one final push at the end of the fourth, the Timberwolves managed to do just enough to overtake the Pelicans.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a field day in taking advantage of Davis’ absence. The Wolves’ rookie dropped 30 points on 13 of 20 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds. He also handed out four assists and only turned the ball over one time.

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The first half was a disaster for many of the other Wolves, including Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, and Zach LaVine. LaVine’s biggest issues were on defense, as Eric Gordon waltzed to the rim at will late in the first half, so much so that Sam Mitchell started Shabazz Muhammad in the second half and left the original starter in LaVine on the bench.

But when Zach reentered in the third quarter, he was back with a vengeance. His instant offense sparked the Wolves turnaround in the second half as he put up 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting from the floor, including making two of his four three-point attempts.

With the game tied and the shot clock off, the Pelicans did such a great job defending the Wolves’ inbound pass that Rubio was never able to touch the ball. Wiggins decided to go one-on-one with and eventually beat former Timberwolf Dante Cunningham going to his right, and there was no resistance on his way to the lane.

Gordon slid underneath Wiggins in an attempt to draw the charge, but wasn’t quite squared up and was whistled for the blocking foul with 3.6 seconds on the clock. Wiggins knocked down both free throws, and Gorgui Dieng stole the in-bounds pass to seal the win.

(Side note: I predicted a 109-107 Wolves win in the preview…the final was 112-110.)

Tweets of the Night

Star of the Night

Karl-Anthony Towns – 30 points (13-20 FG, 0-1 3P, 4-8 FT), 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, one block, one turnover

Towns was once again incredible, dominating in all facets of the game. He could have had an even bigger night, as there were a couple jumpers that just rattled out and a couple other situation where he passed up wide open three-point attempts from the top of the key.

Weirdly, he only made 4 of 8 free throw attempts, but that was also the only true blemish on his night. He made the most of Davis’ absence and was absolutely, positively dominant.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

Andrew Wiggins – 20 points (5-15 FG, 0-3 3P, 10-10 FT), 4 assists, 4 rebounds, one steal, one block, 2 turnovers

Zach LaVine – 25 points (11-17 FG, 2-4 3P, 1-1 FT), 5 rebounds, one assist, one steal, 2 turnovers

Ricky Rubio – 9 points (2-5 FG, 0-1 3P, 5-5 FT), 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 turnovers

Who’s Got Next?

The Timberwolves will be back it again in less than 24 hours with a tough road game in Dallas. Here’s hoping they can ride the wave of a tough, late win over a Davis-less Pelicans team.

Next: Should the Timberwolves Trade Andrew Wiggins?

After Sunday, the Timberwolves will return home and get another pair of off days before hosting the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. It’s another winnable game, and we could see the Wolves run off of a few victories and gain a bit of momentum heading into the month of March.