The Timberwolves came off of a dominate home win on Friday night with a sloppy road loss in Houston on Saturday.
Simply looking at the above final score would tell you that Saturday night’s Timberwolves-Rockets tilt in Houston went to at least one overtime, right?
Well, you’d be wrong, in fact.
Indeed, that was an actual, 48-minute, regulation NBA game with a combined score of 272 points between Minnesota and Houston. The Rockets shot an astonishing 58 three-pointers, converting on 22 of them to shoot 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. Ryan Anderson launched 13 attempts from deep, while James Harden attempted 11 threes and Eric Gordon 10 of his own — 34 three-point tries from three players. The Wolves as a team attempted 26 threes, converting on only nine.
The entire game was exceedingly sloppy, with both teams seemingly engaging in a perverse game of one-up-manship — but in reverse. The Wolves found themselves down double digits midway through the opening frame, but two turnovers in a matter of 10 seconds by the Rockets allowed Minnesota to score six quick points.
But the visiting team was worse, all things considered. Ricky Rubio had one of his worst stretches in recent memories in the second quarter, turning the ball over on back-to-back trips in ugly fashion and being roasted on the defensive end of the floor.
All that said, the Timberwolves trailed by 17 points in the second quarter and appeared to be on their way to a massive blowout loss. But a solid stretch from the second unit and a good end to the half kept Minnesota within eight points at the break.
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?
In the third quarter, however, the Rockets dominated, stretching their lead to 18 heading to the fourth quarter.
Minnesota actually pulled to within two possessions a couple of times down the stretch and trailed by just eight points and had the ball with about 50 seconds remaining in the game, but Andrew Wiggins turned the ball over on a play when at least one foul could have been called on the Rockets. The game was all but over at that point.
Some sloppiness on the back-end of a road back-to-back is to be expected, but there were more than a couple stretches of play that hearkened back to what fans might be more accustomed to seeing in October and not in the final 25 games of the regular season.
The Wolves now head west for a trio of important games against Western Conference rivals. They’ll need to win at least two of them if they want to keep pace in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Star of the Game
Karl-Anthony Towns: 37 points (16-24 FG, 1-2 3P, 4-4 FT), 22 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, one block, 4 turnovers
Despite the loss, Towns deserves to be named the player of the game in this one. He nearly single-handedly kept Minnesota in the game in the second half when Wiggins’ offense hit a lull.
KAT cleaned up on the boards, setting a career-high in rebounds and putting in a few easy buckets in the lane against the Rockets’ undersized front court. Towns’ stretch of play lately has been nothing short of incredible as both he and Wiggins have stepped up their respective games in the absence of Zach LaVine.
Notable Timberwolves Lines
- Andrew Wiggins: 30 points (11-22 FG, 1-5 3P, 7-8 FT), 3 steals, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 turnovers
- Ricky Rubio: 14 points (3-8 FG, 2-5 3P, 6-7 FT), 11 assists, 3 rebounds, one steal, 6 turnovers
- Gorgui Dieng: 16 points (7-10 FG, 0-1 3P, 2-4 FT), 13 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, one block, 3 turnovers
The Wolves were extremely sloppy all game long, with both Wiggins and Rubio adding six turnovers apiece to Towns’ four miscues and Dieng’s three. (Interestingly, neither Kris Dunn nor Tyus Jones committed a single turnover in 39 combined minutes off the bench.)
Wiggins set the Wolves’ franchise record for most consecutive games with 20+ points scored, breaking the record of 16 games that Kevin Garnett had set twice. He also took a slight step back in the other box score categories after an impressive showing on Friday night.
Rubio was horrible in the first half but much better in the second, including after Patrick Beverley two-handed shoved him in the chest for seemingly no reason, receiving a technical in the process. Dieng was his usual solid self throughout, helping Towns dominate the glass.
Next: Trade Deadline Passes Without Activity From Timberwolves
Who’s Up Next?
As mentioned above, the Timberwolves head to the west coast for a three-game swing. Next up are the DeMarcus Cousins-less Kings at 9:30 p.m. Central Time on Monday night. The Kings are two games ahead of Minnesota in the race for the eight-spot in the West.