The Timberwolves finally held on to a lead late and won for the first time in their last eight tries at Target Center with a victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
The 2016-17 Minnesota Timberwolves are already well-known for a combination of dreadful third quarters and failure in close-and-late situations. On Monday night, however, the Wolves were able to hang on down the stretch to defeat the Suns.
Of course, Phoenix isn’t exactly the class of the NBA — the win vaulted the Wolves over the Suns by a half-game in the Western Conference, but still landed them in just 13th-place in the West. But a win is a win is a win, and especially for a team that has struggled mightily in closing situations.
The Wolves led by six points at the end of an entertaining first quarter and largely held serve in the second frame. After leading by as many as 13 points and having a shot at blowing the game open before the break, however, a late run by Phoenix whittled the home team’s lead to just eight at the break.
The third quarter was a little bit of a struggle, but the Wolves only lost the frame by four points and still had a four-point advantage heading to the fourth.
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Strong play by Kris Dunn and top second-unit scoring option Zach LaVine kept the Wolves afloat, but after the Suns’ Devin Booker went on a 4-0 run of his own just under the five-minute mark in the fourth quarter, Minnesota only led by a 105-103 margin with four minutes remaining in the game.
After a series of offensive rebounds and missed put-backs from Karl-Anthony Towns, the reigning Rookie of the Year finally converted in the paint and was fouled, exerting a primal scream before completing the old-fashioned three-point play and putting the Wolves up by five points. The Suns never drew closer.
It was a refreshing close that was equal parts star-power from Towns, LaVine, and Andrew Wiggins, and largely impressive point guard play, whether it was Dunn or Ricky Rubio at the point in the fourth quarter.
The Wolves needed this win for many reasons, but not the least of which it was easily one of the most-winnable games on the schedule in the near future.
Tweet of the Night
KAT showing off that weight room work 👉💪 (via @NBA) https://t.co/HB9JtfgIh9
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 20, 2016
Star of the Night
Karl-Anthony Towns: 28 points (11-18 FG, 1-3 3P, 5-5 FT), 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Towns played his most complete game in what feels like a long while. He was efficient from the field, got to the free throw line a fair amount, and was tough inside against Tyson Chandler and Co. — never an easy task.
He did turn the ball over four times and had a couple of late defensive rotations (who hasn’t on the Wolves this year?), but was solid in basically all facets and was big late in the game for the Wolves.
Notable Timberwolves Lines
- Andrew Wiggins: 26 ponts (11-20 FG, 1-2 3P, 3-4 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
- Zach LaVine: 23 points (7-16 FG, 4-8 3P, 5-5 FG), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, one block
- Ricky Rubio: 8 points (1-5 FG, 0-2 3P, 6-6 FT), 12 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
- Gorgui Dieng: 10 point (5-10 FG), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, one assist, one steal
- Kris Dunn: 8 points (3-6 FG, 1-1 3P, 1-1 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, one steal, one assist, 3 turnovers in 11 minutes
Wiggins was quiet early but hit big shots late. LaVine was big from outside the arc but somewhat sloppy inside. Once again, Rubio did everything except make shots and was key to what was a great fast-break performance by the Wolves, either by notching assists or so-called “hockey assists” to get the ball up the floor quickly.
Dieng was solid throughout once again, nearly hitting his per-game averages on the nose, and Dunn was good overall but turned the ball over three times in only 11 minutes. On the positive side: he took a semi-dirty screen from P.J. Tucker and stood up for himself by getting in the veteran’s face. It led to a technical foul from the Suns’ forward and a free point for the Wolves.
Next: Studying The Timberwolves' Defensive Struggles
Who’s Up Next?
The Wolves head south to Atlanta for a tough match-up against a Hawks team that beat the Thunder in OKC on Monday. Mike Budenholzer’s crew is now just 14-14 but still feels like a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday.