Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves lose to Celtics despite Bjelica’s career night

The Timberwolves fell to the mighty Boston Celtics on Thursday night despite a career-high 30 points from Nemanja Bjelica.

Coming off of six days of rest since last Friday night’s rough-and-tumble loss to the Jazz in Salt Lake City, the Timberwolves fell to 2-3 since Jimmy Butler suffered a torn meniscus just under two weeks ago.

While the 46-20 Celtics, who clinched a playoff berth with the win over the Wolves, used a balanced attack to systematically dismantle Minnesota’s defense, the Wolves saw Andrew Wiggins shoot just 6-of-21 from the floor, including making just one of eight 3-point attempts. To make matters worse, Karl-Anthony Towns only managed to put up 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Jeff Teague only contributed 13 points of his own.

Nemanja Bjelica was the Wolves’ saving grace, scoring a career-high 30 points (11-16 FG, 6-9 3P, 2-2 FT) and grabbing 12 rebounds. He was hot early, knocking down his first four shots and reaching double figures faster than anyone else on the floor. The Wolves finally began to look his way again late in the game, but the defense couldn’t provide enough resistance to truly keep Minnesota within striking distance.

Bjelica also played a game-high 40 minutes as Tom Thibodeau only used an eight-man rotation. New addition Derrick Rose didn’t see the floor, and Marcus Georges-Hunt stayed glued to the pine throughout the evening.

Save for a first quarter stretch in which the Wolves turned the ball over on three of four possessions, the offense actually ran fairly smoothly for having a six-day layoff. And while it would be nice to see Towns have more of an impact (the 41.4 percent 3-point shooter didn’t launch a single long-range attempt), Wiggins’ inefficiency was the only true issue with the overall offensive production.

The defense, on the other hand, was terrible. The Celtics, whose team field goal percentage for the season is just 45.1 percent and ranks No. 22 in the NBA, shot 49.4 percent from the floor in this one. The Wolves only forced 11 turnovers, and Boston seemingly had just enough second-chance points and fast break opportunities to hold the Timberwolves at arm’s length for virtually the entire night.

This was always going to be a tough game to win, but the next few games will be, too. At some point, the Wolves are going to have to win a few difficult ones with Jimmy Butler on the sideline.

Player of the Game

Kyrie Irving: 23 points (9-15 FG, 12-14 FT), 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, one block

Irving only had to play 30 minutes in this one, but he turned the dial up to ’11’ when he needed to do so. The Timberwolves were showing signs of life and trading the Celtics blow for blow just past the midway point of the fourth quarter, but Kyrie hit shot after shot. From mid-range shots to lefty floaters to contested turnaround jumpers, Irving put the Wolves away for good.

Notable Box Score Lines

• Nemanja Bjelica: 30 points (11-16 FG, 6-9 3P, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds, 2 assists
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 15 points (5-12 FG, 5-8 FT), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, one block
• Andrew Wiggins: 13 points (6-21 FG, 1-8 3P), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 assists
• Taj Gibson: 18 points (8-10 FG, 2-3 FT), 4 rebounds, one assist
• Jeff Teague: 13 points (5-12 FG, 3-6 3P), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, one steal

Next: What areas must the Wolves improve in down the stretch?

What’s Next?

Things don’t get any easier for the Timberwolves. After a six-day break, the Wolves will get another two days off before hosting the Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in what will be the Wolves’ first network-televised national broadcast in many years.