With Flip Saunders in their hearts and on their minds, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to come away with a victory versus the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The final score was 112-111 in the Wolves favor, but they played from behind for much of the night.
Minnesota was able to start out strong behind the stellar performance of Ricky Rubio — he was able to pour in ten of Minnesota’s first 12 points. However, the rest of the roster was unable to perform at the level of Rubio, and the Lakers were able to go on a big run at the end of the first which ended with a buzzer-beater from near half-court by Nick Young.
The Wolves then preceded to play from behind the rest of the way. Interim coach Sam Mitchell decided to go with a platoon swap approach in the first half, and that did not turn out to be effective.
Zach LaVine played most of the half at point guard, which is clearly not his position. Nemanja Bjelica got into early foul trouble, forcing Mitchell to play Adreian Payne and Damjan Rudez throughout the first half.
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The one bright spot off the bench was Kevin Martin, who was able to provide some offense, but the Wolves second unit was completely unable to stop Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Kobe was able to pace the Lakers offense in the second quarter and by halftime Los Angeles was leading 61-50.
As the second half commenced the Wolves were really unable to gain any ground in a foul filled third quarter. Going into the fourth, the Wolves were still down by seven.
Luckily, the Lakers went ice cold in the fourth, shooting only 4 for 23 throughout the quarter. This opened the door for Rubio and the Wolves to storm back into the game and eventually take the lead with about six minutes remaining.
Behind Rubio’s strong play, Minnesota was able to survive, despite a fervent effort at the end by the Lakers. Lou Williams missed a chance to win the game for the Lakers as time expired.
Reigning rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins finished with just nine points on the night on 2 for 10 shooting. Wiggins looked a little rattled tonight and was not able to find his footing in the game until the fourth quarter.
Tweet of the Night
A moment of silence for a leader gone too soon. #RIPFlip pic.twitter.com/tiuUUjknKM
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 29, 2015
Clip of the Night
Star of the Night
Ricky Rubio– 28 points (10-17 FG, 2-4 3P, 6-7 FT), 14 assists, 2 rebounds, one steal, one turnover
Rubio picked a good night to churn out his best game as a professional. He showed that his shot has indeed improved and that he can now hit shots off the dribble.
We also saw Rubio push the tempo on offense, which turned out to be quite successful and it’s something the Wolves could rely on in the future.
Now it’s up to Rubio to prove that this game was not a fluke. He’s shown that he can make jumpers, but can he make them consistently as the season goes on? His shot started to look a little flat as the game went on, but for now we’ll celebrate the great performance from Ricky.
Other Notable Lines
Kobe Bryant– 24 points, 4 rebounds, 8-24 FG
It’s worth noting considering Kobe was the talk of Staples Center last night. His much anticipated return was met with cheers from the Lakers faithful. Bryant got hot in the second quarter, but was unable to put together a complete game for the Lakers.
Kevin Martin– 23 points on 6-15 FG
It’s clear that Martin will fit well in his sixth man role, as he played most of the crunch time minutes for Minnesota. Besides his lack of defensive ability, Martin showed he can still fill it up, even if he’s getting less minutes.
Karl Anthony-Towns– 14 points, 12 rebounds, 6-10 FG
Besides a few “rookie” plays throughout the course of the game, Towns played well in his debut outing. He showed poise down low up against the veteran Roy Hibbert, and paced the Wolves on the boards.
Up Next
The Timberwolves have a day off tomorrow as they travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Friday. Denver is coming off an opening night road win over the Rockets 105-85.
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