Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves no-show in Houston

The Timberwolves followed up a disappointing loss in Orlando on Tuesday with a poor effort in a blowout loss to the Rockets on Thursday.

After the Timberwolves saw their five-game winning streak snapped as they once again played down to their competition in Orlando earlier this week, the Wolves failed to step-up against one of the best teams in the NBA on Thursday night in Houston.

The Wolves and Rockets played what was mostly a back-and-forth, albeit sloppy game for much of the first quarter and a half in this one before they inexplicably stopped guarding the pick-and-roll and allowed the Rockets to knock down three consecutive threes. Suddenly, Houston was ahead by 13 points at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Wolves start with a nice burst and draw within seven points, but the Rockets got back to their 3-point shooting ways while the Wolves’ offense became unsightly. Too many possessions featured the ball stopping, usually in the hands of Jeff Teague or Jimmy Butler, and there were simply too many turnovers.

On the other end, the Wolves were slow to loose balls and allowed the league’s second-best offense far too many chances to score.

The Rockets’ lead ballooned to 19 points on an Eric Gordon buzzer-beater from halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, capping a 16-4 run. The Wolves tried to make things interesting, opening the final frame with a 10-2 run of their own and getting within nine points on a Butler jumper just prior to the midway point of the fourth quarter. But the Rockets got right back to it with a three from Chris Paul and three free throws from James Harden.

Minnesota kept the score at a respectable margin shortly after Harden reached his minutes limit late in the game, but they allowed the Rockets to build their lead back up the final margin of 18. Overall, it was a disappointing effort in a nationally-televised game against a good team.

Tweets of the Night

Key Takeaways

• Strangely, the Rockets challenged Karl-Anthony Towns to beat them from beyond the arc, leaving him wide open from beyond the arc early and often. He finally bit, but went 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half and missed his first attempt of the second half before finally knocking one down.
• Butler was fairly quiet — especially in the first half — despite scoring 23 points on the night.
• Marcus Georges-Hunt saw the floor for a brief second quarter stint after two consecutive DNP-CDs this week.
• The Rockets started the game shooting just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc but were suddenly piping hot. They went through a similar, brief swoon in the fourth quarter while the Wolves trimmed the deficit down to single digits. But just when things tightened up, the threes began dropping once again.
• As frustrating as this game was, it was encouraging that they hung tough in the fourth quarter, and there clearly isn’t much of an overall talent gap at all between the two teams.
• You may remember old friend Luc Mbah a Moute. You know, he of the 21.4 percent 3-point shooting and 3.3 points per game he put up for the Wolves back in 2013-14. Well, he made four of six long-range attempts and dropped 14 points on his former team Thursday night.
• Nemanja Bjelica had a great first half stint, including a catch-and-shoot three from the wing and a pick-pocketing of Ryan Anderson with an assist on the fastbreak on the other end. In the second half, however, he had a poor stint and was pulled after allowing Paul to waltz past him for an easy layup.

Player of the Game

Chris Paul: 19 points (6-12 FG, 4-8 3P, 3-4 FT), 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 turnovers

On a night during which Harden struggled to knock the rust off after a seven-game absence, Paul carried the Rockets. Jeff Teague had a bad night on both ends of the floor the Wolves, and CP3 controlled the game entirely. He finished with a plus-23, compared with Harden’s minus-11.

Notable Box Score Lines

• Jimmy Butler: 23 points (8-15 FG, 0-1 3P, 7-8 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, one block, one turnover
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 22 points (10-19 FG, 1-7 3P, 1-2 FT), 16 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists, 2 steals, zero turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 16 points (5-12 FG, 3-5 3P, 3-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, one block, 2 turnovers
• Tyus Jones: 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-5 3P), one rebound, one steal, one turnover
• Nemanja Bjelica: 5 points (1-3 FG, 1-1 3P, 2-2 FT), 4 assists, 2 rebounds, one steal, 2 turnovers, 7 minutes

Next: Wolves Thoughts: Turning potential into production

What’s Next?

The Timberwolves will return home for yet another one-game homestand. On Saturday night, they’ll host the 30-13 Toronto Raptors at 8 p.m. CT.