Timberwolves Wrap: Furious comeback falls short against Rockets

The Timberwolves trailed by 20 or more points for a huge portion of Sunday’s game before a furious fourth-quarter comeback fell short against the Rockets.

The Houston Rockets are are probably the best team in the NBA. Beating them — especially without Jimmy Butler on the floor — was always going to be extremely difficult.

But falling behind by 24 points at multiple points in the game made things nearly impossible.

The Wolves’ defense was atrocious throughout the first half, allowing 38 points in the first quarter and 39 in the second. The offense was okay, but stalled just enough in the second frame to allow the Rockets to lead by a score of 77-55 at the break.

The third quarter started with a 20-10 run from the Wolves and allowed Minnesota to hang around as the second half wore on. The Rockets relaxed and became sloppy on offense, and once Minnesota had a couple of short spurts of their own, they appeared to be more engaged defensively and on the glass.

The Wolves didn’t do much differently from an execution standpoint late in the game, but they were clearly motivated by their short runs in the third quarter, and then, a dust-up between Gorgui Dieng, Chris Paul, and Gerald Green that led to Green’s ejection.

The Wolves continued to play hard while the Rockets were visibly going through the motions, and after another quick burst imitated by Derrick Rose (!), the Wolves pulled to within five points.

But after a timeout, the Rockets scored on consecutive possessions and Minnesota never pulled any closer than six points the rest of the way.

Falling behind by 24 against the class of the NBA is a death sentence, to be sure. But while it’s absolutely too late in the season for a “moral victory”, a nine-point loss in which the team battled to the final horn is far, far better than being blown out by 20+ points. Even though they lost this one, the Wolves showed a sellout home crowd that they’re going to stay in the thick of the playoff race until it’s all said and done.

Highlight of the Night

Tweet of the Night

Key Takeaways

• The Timberwolves rotation remains odd. Taj Gibson was in foul trouble for much of the night in this one and only played 26 minutes, but much of that was given to Derrick Rose, who played 19 minutes. Tyus Jones only saw the court for 11 minutes, while Jeff Teague (38 minutes) and Jamal Crawford (28 minutes) were out there quite a bit.
• The three-guard lineup was horrible early but helped spark the second half run. Much of it was Teague-Rose-Crawford, and while it won’t be sustainable in any extended minutes, it worked tonight.
• Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 18 rebounds with about three minutes left in the third quarter, and finished with just 20 and 18. He was hardly involved in the fourth quarter, and while he stepped up and was more active defensively, the Wolves need more from him down the stretch. (Oh, and he didn’t attempt a single 3-point shot for the second time in the last five games…unacceptable.)
• The Wolves have slid all the way to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference, a half-game behind a three-way tie between Utah, New Orleans, and San Antonio and one-and-a-half games ahead of the Clippers, who the Wolves play on Tuesday.
• Jimmy Butler was at the game and sat on the bench and was dressed in a sport coat and sweatpants, as you no doubt saw in the above video.
• Jeff Teague probably played the most complete game of any Timberwolves player, staying active on defense, scoring a team-high 23 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, and dishing out 11 assists.

Player of the Game

James Harden: 34 points (9-18 FG, 2-9 3P, 14-14 FT), 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, one block

Harden was great throughout the game, especially early and down the stretch. He had a huge and-one in the lane as the Wolves were holding onto late-game momentum, and then a dagger 3-pointer in the final minutes.

At the height of the Wolves’ run in the fourth quarter, Harden appeared to injure his hand/wrist area. He was in notable pain, but after the Rockets called timeout, it didn’t appear to bother him for the rest of the game.

Notable Timberwolves Box Score Stats

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 20 points (9-15 FG, 0-0 3P, 2-3 FT), 18 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block
• Jeff Teague: 23 points (5-11 FG, 3-5 3P, 10-10 FT), 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals
• Jamal Crawford: 20 points (8-12 FG, 3-4 3P, 1-1 FT), 3 assists, one rebound, one steal
• Andrew Wiggins: 21 points (8-16 FG, 2-3 3P, 3-6 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 steals, one assist
• Nemanja Bjelica: 15 points (6-10 FG, 2-4 3P, 1-2 FT), 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• Derrick Rose: 14 points (6-11 FG, 0-1 3P, 2-2 FT), 3 assists, 19 minutes

Next: On the Timberwolves balanced, Butler-less offense

What’s Next?

The Wolves will have Monday off before hosting the Los Angeles Clippers, who trail the Wolves by 1.5 games in the West, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. CT.