Timberwolves Wrap: Third loss in a row

The Timberwolves led by as many as 18 points in the first half but gave it all away in short order and ultimately fell by a final score of 107-99.

Well, that’s two 18-point leads that the Timberwolves have given away this season.

The Wolves dominated the early proceedings but struggled from approximately the midway point of the second quarter on, despite making a couple of feeble comeback attempts in the fourth quarter.

For perspective’s sake, Ricky Rubio had four assists before the first quarter was over and had five at halftime but finished with just six helpers. The Wolves offense was a mess for much of the evening, and there appeared to be a few contributing factors.

Yes, Zach LaVine was missing, out for the season with a torn ACL. But Brandon Rush is a capable player who played great with the starting unit a couple of weeks ago when LaVine missed time due to injury.

The biggest thing was the tenacity with which the Grizzlies began guarding on the perimeter during the second quarter. Strangely, the officials swallowed their whistles on hand-checks and reach-in fouls above the arc, but called any semblance of contact in the paint.

That meant that Minnesota struggled to initiate their offense through Rubio and Andrew Wiggins, but the Grizzlies were able to bully the Wolves — not with Marc Gasol, who was out due to rest, or Zach Randolph, who shot just 3-of-15 and fouled out, but with JaMychal Green, who scored 29 points on 8-of-11 shooting and a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line.

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The Wolves salvaged a tie at halftime but were outscored by a 33-17 margin in the second. The third quarter was a slog, as both teams struggled to score and Memphis took a two-point lead into the final frame.

The Wolves bench played well to start the fourth quarter and Minnesota grabbed a couple of small leads. But the Grizzlies continued to be the aggressors and the Timberwolves couldn’t sustain any runs or get consecutive stops on defense.

Memphis stretched their lead to 12 with a few minutes left, but a quick 6-0 run cut the lead back to two possessions before the Grizz dug in their heels and sealed the game down the stretch.

It was a disappointing loss for a Wolves team that had been so good on the second night of back-to-back sets to this point. The loss of LaVine no doubt had a mentally-draining effect, but it’s otherwise tough to see why Minnesota couldn’t beat a Gasol-less and Chandler Parsons-less Memphis squad.

Star of the Game

JaMychal Green: 29 points (8-11 FG, 1-2 3P, 12-12 FT), 6 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block

For the second night in a row, the Wolves allowed an opposing four-man to beat them handily. On Friday night, it was Marcus Morris and Jon Leuer dropping career-highs on the road, and on this night, it was Green dominating the Wolves at Target Center, both in the paint and on the perimeter.

A rough stretch of games for Gorgui Dieng continued, and Nemanja Bjelica continues to show little overall improvement on the defensive end of the floor. Green could get whatever he wanted in this one, and the stretch in the second quarter was the turning point in the game.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 27 points (8-15 FG, 2-4 3P, 9-10 FT), 16 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, one block, 2 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 23 points (9-22 FG, 1-4 3P, 4-7 FT), 5 assists, 2 rebounds, one steal, one block, one turnover
• Ricky Rubio: 15 points (5-15 FG, 2-6 3P, 2-2 FT), 6 assists, one rebound, 2 turnovers
• Tyus Jones: 10 points (3-6 FG, 2-5 3P, 2-2 FT), 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, one block, 3 turnovers
• Gorgui Dieng: 2 points (1-6 FG), 13 rebounds, one assist, 35 minutes

Towns had a solid night, while Wiggins struggled with his shot from all over the floor — especially finishing through contact in the lane.

Rubio was fantastic in the first quarter but very mediocre from that point on, although turnovers weren’t the issue in this one. Jones, on the other hand, was very good in 24 minutes of play. He did play alongside Rubio at the two-guard for a couple of stretches and showed well.

Dieng, as mentioned, was extremely quiet. Playing 35 minutes and scoring just two points is simply not an option, and the 13 rebounds were skewed heavily towards the early portions of the game in which the Wolves were actually hustling as a team.

Next: Timberwolves Issues: Fixable, Or...Not So Much?

Who’s Up Next?

The Wolves will host the Miami Heat on Monday night in game two of what is a six-game homestand. Miami had held the second-worst record in the NBA at 11-31 not long ago, but has won a remarkable 10 straight games and is the hottest team in the league.