Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves fall to Grizzlies at home

Playing a weirdly-timed Sunday matinee didn’t help the Timberwolves get back on track as they lost their fourth straight game, 114-106 to the Memphis Grizzlies in front of a sparse home crowd at Target Center.

The Wolves were in the game throughout, never trailing by double-digits until the final moments. Theere wasn’t anything hideously bad about their performance, nor was there much in the way of inspiring play from Sam Mitchell‘s bunch, either.

It mostly just felt obvious that the Grizzlies were a better team, especially with Ricky Rubio still sidelined with a strained hamstring. Mike Conley was able to have a surprisingly successful shooting night, hitting 7 of 14 shots from the field and finishing with 20 points, seven assists, and two steals.

We mentioned in the game preview that Rubio has historically played Conley tough, and it was clear that Zach LaVine and Andre Miller had a tough time tracking the Grizzlies’ point guard.

More from Dunking with Wolves

• The dream starting 5 for Minnesota Timberwolves 5 years from now
• Anthony Edwards’ latest accolade is a great sign of things to come
• In an OT thriller, Team Canada snatches Bronze from Team USA
• Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin
• Which Timberwolves roster additions have upgraded the bench?

The Timberwolves led by a point after the first quarter, fell behind late in the second quarter and trailed by six points at halftime before pulling to within two heading into the fourth quarter.

The biggest issue for Minnesota down the stretch was silly turnovers. Karl-Anthony Towns had a team-high with just three turnovers, so the blame can be spread around, but more than half of the squad’s 12 turnovers on the game occurred in the final frame.

Overall, Towns did a good job on Marc Gasol (16 points, 7 rebounds). The Grizzlies’ center did shoot 7 of 10 from the floor and Towns lost him for mid-range jumpers a couple of times down the stretch, he more than held his own over the course of the afternoon.

Tweet of the Night

Star of the Night

Mike Conley: 20 points (7-14 FG, 4-5 3P, 2-4 FT), 7 assists, 2 steals, one turnover

Not having to deal with the relentless Ricky Rubio meant that Conley was left to launch three-pointers to his heart’s content. It was a shift for the normally scoring-challenged point guard, but he was happy to oblige.

He also did a good job on LaVine, who despite scoring 25 points only had three assists and committed five fouls, and outside of a hot streak in the third quarter didn’t do a ton until garbage time to close out the game.

Other Notable Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns – 14 points (5-11 FG, 0-1 3P, 4-4 FT), 9 rebounds, one block, one assist, 3 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins – 21 points (8-14 FG, 1-2 3P, 4-5 FT), one rebound, one assist, one steal, one block, one turnover
• Zach LaVine – 25 points (8-15 FG, 4-7 3P, 5-6 FT), 3 assists, 3 rebounds, one turnover

Next: What Does Sam Mitchell's Toronto Tenure Tell Us?

Up Next

The Timberwolves are off on Monday before a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back in the state of Florida. They’ll be in Miami on Tuesday to face the same Heat squad that gave them a beat-down about a week-and-a-half ago and will take on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Here’s hoping the Wolves will be treated to Rubio’s return in one of the two games, although don’t be surprised if the training staff holds him out until Wednesday. They likely won’t have him playing both ends of the back-to-back, and the tilt against the Magic is the more winnable game.

That said, Tuesday would be nice, too.