Player grades from Minnesota Timberwolves’ home loss to Jazz
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, stretching their losing streak to six games.
Final. 127. 118. 116. 86
The Minnesota Timberwolves‘ post-Oklahoma-City-collapse woes continued on Wednesday with what turned into a blowout home loss to the Utah Jazz.
The Wolves trailed early in the game but fought back with a flurry late in the second quarter to knot the game up at 59 at halftime. After attempting a season-low 22 3-pointers in Phoenix on Monday, the Wolves eclipsed that mark over the first two quarters on Wednesday.
But they didn’t make enough of them to make a significant impact, finishing the night 15-of-41 (36.6 percent) — a respectable number, but not enough when your opponent is 16-of-35 (45.7 percent) and also gets a number of dunks and layups.
The Jazz came out of the locker room after halftime with a sense of purpose, knocking down a pair of quick 3-pointers to start the third quarter and immediately grabbing back all momentum. The Wolves never made a serious effort to take back the lead and trailed by 20 or more for most of the fourth quarter before a too-little-too-late push.
The Wolves played hard for the most part, and outside of a few sloppy turnovers, they were largely a victim of some bad luck. Seemingly every 3-point attempt by the Jazz was made despite the Wolves doing a good job contesting shots, and Minnesota had an inordinate number of shots that rimmed in and out over the course of the game.
That said, there still wasn’t much in the way of positive takeaways, other than showing just a bit of fight after things were pretty much already decided. And with the Los Angeles Clippers coming into town on Friday night, things are likely to get worse before they get better.
Player Grades
Minnesota Timberwolves. KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS. B. Towns was active in this game but was also extremely inefficient, putting up 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting and making just two of his nine attempts from beyond the arc. He also had 11 rebounds, three assists and a steal but turned the ball over five times. Minnesota tried to get him involved in the offense, but Towns forced a few shots that weren’t there and simply fell victim to solid defense by Utah and some unlikely bounces on the rim.. Center
B+. Wiggins had a similar night to Towns: decent counting stats when it was all said and done, but he had to work exceedingly hard and take far too many shots to get there. The line reads 26 points (11-23 FG, 3-8 3P, 1-1 FT), six rebounds, three steals, and three assists. He continues to take more 3-pointers, which is great, but he’s missing more shots in the paint than he was just a couple of weeks ago.. Wing. Minnesota Timberwolves. ANDREW WIGGINS
Minnesota Timberwolves. ROBERT COVINGTON. B. Covington’s outing fell somewhere between his great performances last week and his awful showing in Phoenix on Monday. He finished with 14 points but it took him 13 shots to get there as he shot just 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. RoCo did pull down seven rebounds and pitch in a pair of steals and a pair of assists. He was one of the many Wolves who were torched by <a rel=. Forward
D. It was another rough game for the rookie, as Culver had just four points on 2-of-8 shooting and only three rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes. He struggled defensively as well and had another 0-for-2 night from the free throw line, where he came into the game shooting just 45.1 percent on the season.. Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. JARRETT CULVER
B+. Okogie had another decent game, although he struggled when asked to contain Mitchell. On the offensive end of the floor, J.O. had 13 points (3-8 FG, 3-5 3P, 4-4 FT) and also pitched in five total rebounds. Somehow, he actually managed a +3 in 31 minutes in a game that the Wolves lost by 11.. Guard/Forward. Minnesota Timberwolves. JOSH OKOGIE
A. Teague was awesome in this one, putting up 31 points (11-16 FG, 4-4 3P, 6-6 FT), six assists, and four rebounds in 38 minutes off the bench. he did most of his damage in the first half and missed a couple of easy attempts at the rim during the Wolves’ second-half struggles. Overall, however, Teague’s move to the bench has worked, at least in terms of his scoring numbers.. Point Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. JEFF TEAGUE
Other Players
Keita Bates-Diop did not play due to flu-like symptoms, which meant that both Jordan Bell and Gorgui Dieng got decent run off the bench. Bell played the 4 alongside Towns when Covington headed to the bench, and Dieng backed up Towns at the 5.
Bell was quite good once again, scoring six points on 2-of-2 shooting and making both of his free throw attempts. He also had three rebounds and a block in 14 minutes. Dieng struggled a bit, with zero points on 0-for-2 shooting and just two rebounds and an assist.
Shabazz Napier played 13 minutes and went scoreless, missing both of his shot attempts. Treveon Graham only saw 10 minutes off the bench and was also scoreless on two shot attempts.
Without Bates-Diop and Jake Layman, the bench was relatively punchless outside of Teague.
Next. The Wolves need a third option on offense. dark
What’s Next
The Wolves host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at Target Center. The game was moved to 8:30 p.m. to accommodate an ESPN broadcast, but the decision was made prior to the six-game losing skid that the Wolves are still mired in. Sorry, national TV audience.