The Timberwolves trailed by 13 points to the Orlando Magic at halftime but fell by a single possession after a late comeback.
It was an ugly game. Neither team could score in the first quarter with the Wolves being stuck on four points until the 4:47 mark of the opening frame. A flurry from Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Muhammad in the closing moments made the deficit a semi-respectable 21-14.
The second quarter was more open and had a better flow, but the Wolves suddenly could not stop the likes of Nikola Vucevic and Andrew Nicholson in the post. Their hook shots seemingly always found the bottom of the net, and Karl-Anthony Towns, Gorgui Dieng, and Nemanja Bjelica couldn’t do anything about it.
The Timberwolves fell behind by as many as 17 points right at the midway point of the third quarter before Wiggins, Dieng, and Kevin Martin brought the Wolves to within nine points heading into the fourth quarter.
Minnesota’s solid second half defense carried over into the fourth quarter. Muhammad and Zach LaVine led the scoring, and the Wolves’ starters began to filter back into the game. Wiggins tied the game at 87 with a put-back off of his own miss with 4:37 remaining on the clock, but then the offense went cold.
After a missed three from LaVine, the Wolves had a bad shot clock violation sandwiched around some solid play on the defensive end of the floor. But then the Magic’s Victor Oladipo went on a 5-0 run by himself and blocked Wiggins’ shot on the other end.
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A Dieng three-point play brought the Wolves back within two points inside the one-minute mark, but Elfrid Payton beat Ricky Rubio off the dribble and put the Magic up by a score of 94-90. Wiggins knocked down a couple of free throws and was fouled again with 5.6 seconds on the clock with a chance to tie the game but missed the back-end of the shots.
After two free throws from Nicholson, the Wolves called a pair of timeouts before Wiggins’ three-pointer from the top of the key was blocked by Aaron Gordon. There were no other options to shoot on that particular play call and Wiggins was somewhat of an island with no other legitimate three-point shooters on the floor and in a position to tie the game.
At any rate, it was a miserable first half with a decent second half comeback and another good game from Wiggins, save for the closing seconds.
Tweet of the Night
Dieng has some mojo back, but I'll give this 4th quarter trend maybe another 2 weeks before getting overly cranky.
— TwolvesBlog (@TwolvesBlog) December 2, 2015
Star of the Night
Andrew Wiggins – 27 points (9-15 FG, 1-3 3P, 8-11 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, one block, 2 turnovers
Once again, Wiggins was ultra-aggressive and did a great job drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. He had a very impressive second half stretch that helped get the Timberwolves not only back into the game but into a late tie.
He did miss a crucial free throw that would have tied the game in the final seconds and was unable to shake Gordon and get a clean look off at the buzzer, but it was still a good game.
Other Notable Timberwolves Lines
- Zach LaVine – 12 points (3-11 FG, 0-5 3P, 6-6 FT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, one steal, one block, 2 turnovers
- Karl-Anthony Towns – 6 points (2-11 FG, 0-1 3P, 2-4), 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, one steal, one turnover
- Gorgui Dieng – 11 points (4-6 FG, 3-3 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, one steal, one assist, 2 turnovers
Up Next
The Timberwolves have the next three days off at home before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
Next: The 30 Greatest Moments In Timberwolves History
It’s a much-needed break for a team that looked sluggish on Tuesday. It also comes at a good time for Nemanja Bjelica and Ricky Rubio who returned from injury on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively and surely could use some extra time.
Stay tuned to Dunking With Wolves this week for another No Frills Wolves podcast and much, much more.