Timberwolves Wrap: Season ends with Game 5 loss in Houston

Once again, the Timberwolves led early but saw the Rockets go on an otherworldly third quarter run and effectively put the game away before the final frame.

In a game that was eerily similar to Game 4, the Timberwolves took an early lead over a Rockets team that couldn’t buy a bucket from the field, only to see it shrink in the second quarter and evaporate in the the third.

This time around, the Wolves led by four points at halftime, but as in Game 4, the Rockets came out of the locker room on fire and buried the Timberwolves in short order.

Once again, the Rockets’ superstar guards struggled to get going in the first half. Still, the Wolves only built a ten-point lead and were unable to maintain it despite the Rockets’ offensive struggles.

Their adapted strategy when it came to guarding Harden (not exactly as revolutionary as Reggie Miller made it sound on the TNT broadcast, but still effective early) involved waiting to send a second defender at the eventual league MVP until the shot clock ticked below seven seconds.

Karl-Anthony Towns continued his trend of improving with each and every game of the series, grabbing eight first quarter rebounds and scoring virtually every time he had a mismatch in the post. Once again, however, he didn’t get the benefit of very many foul calls, and Towns still allowed his frustration to spill over onto the other end of the floor where Clint Capela put up 26 points and 15 rebounds.

The Rockets’ 3-point onslaught was led by role players Trevor Ariza (4-for-7) and P.J. Tucker (5-for-7), while Harden (4-for-11) and Chris Paul (0-for-8) continued to struggle.

The Timberwolves battled throughout the second half, but by midway through the third quarter, the damage had been done.

Player of the Game

Clint Capela: 26 points (12-14 FG, 2-4 FT), 15 rebounds, one assist, one block

Capela played a fantastic series, with his Game 3 struggles against Towns the only real blip on the radar. In Game 5, Capela was again the beneficiary of a number of fantastic passes from Harden and Paul, including lobs at the rim and easy dump-offs after he managed to establish deep seals in the paint.

Notable Timberwolves Box Score Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 23 points (9-14 FG, 1-2 3P, 4-4 FT), 14 rebounds, 4 assists, one block
• Jamal Crawford: 20 points (8-10 FG, 2-3 3P, 2-2 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal
• Jeff Teague: 17 points (6-14 FG, 3-5 3P, 2-4 FT), 7 assists, 4 rebounds
• Andrew Wiggins: 14 points (5-14 FG, 1-4 3P, 3-6 FT), 4 rebounds
• Jimmy Butler: 8 points (4-10 FG, 0-1 3P), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, one steal, one block

Next: Timberwolves Roundup: Timberpups, Jimmy Butler's future

What’s Next?

The offseason. We’ll have plenty of season wrap-up and and postmortem in the coming days and weeks, of course, so keep it tuned to Dunking With Wolves.