First of all it was a rare sight to tune into ESPN and see the Timberwolves play. Looking down at the scoreboard displayed by ESPN throughout the game and seeing the letters MIN, it was pretty amazing.
Anyways.
The Timberwolves suffered 6th straight loss last night at the hands of the playoff hopefuls, Phoenix Suns, 114-90. Led by rookie Markieff Morris’ 21 points and 6 boards, the Suns had full control of the game throughout. The Wolves’ only lead in the game was after a layup by Barea which gave the Wolves a very early 4-2 lead. Since then, the Suns took over the game and never lost the lead. The Suns led by as much as 27 points in the game.
At the end of the first quarter the Suns only lead the Timberwolves 21-18, but in the following three quarters the Suns would score 30 points or more. The Suns were basically hot and the Timberwolves didn’t and couldn’t do anything about that. Worse, the Timberwolves couldn’t match or shoot as well as the Suns were last night in Target Center. The Suns shot 57.3 percent from the field while the Wolves shot a mere 38.6 percent. Amongst all stats, that was the biggest and possibly the only reason as to why the Wolves were blown out by Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Former 2 time league MVP, Steve Nash, didn’t even get to play much as he wasn’t needed really. Nash only played 26 minutes compared to Kevin Love’s 38 minutes of action. The Suns starters had a short night on the court as the bench players took over and kept the Suns rolling to a rout.
Kevin Love led the Timberwolves once again with a simple double double of 25 points and 13 rebounds. However, Love only made 1 out 6 three pointers throughout the contest and ended up with a 7-19 field goal shooting. Kevin Love wasn’t the only player who had an ugly shooting night. JJ Barea, who is starting in replacement of the inactive Luke Ridnour, shot a terrible 7-17. Michael Beasley as well shot terrible by only making 5 out of his 14 shot attempts. The Timberwolves offense last night was just as bad as their defense. The Suns took advantage of the situation and caused Minnesota fans to leave Target Center a little bit earlier.
The Wolves have now lost their 6th game in a row, which is the longest losing streak the team has had this entire season. After losing to former Timberwolves All-Star, Kevin Garnett, and the Boston Celtics by 21 points the Timberwolves have fallen to Western Conference teams that almost have the same record as they do. The Wolves would first lose two games on the road in Portland followed by Sacramento. Returning home, the Wolves fell to a team that is still trying to overtake the Wolves’ position in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors. Then the Wolves would visit New Orleans, the home of the worst team in the Western Conference, and would lose once again. And now, the Wolves just lost to another Western Conference team, the Suns. The Wolves should start to get their act together because 6 of their last 8 games of the season are against teams in the West, but this time higher ranked teams such as the Nuggets (4/11 and 4/26), Thunder (4/14), Grizzlies (4/17), and the Clippers (4/12).
The Wolves would also get an opportunity to take revenge on the Warriors on April 22nd.
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