Minnesota Timberwolves: Player grades from loss to 76ers
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves attempted a massive comeback for the second time in 24 hours, but they fell short in Jimmy Butler‘s return to Target Center.
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Unfortunately, revenge was not in the cards for the Minnesota Timberwolves and their fans this season.
After a historically bad performance in Philadelphia back on Jan. 15, some Wolves players (or, fans, at least) had no doubt circled March 30 on their calendars in anticipation of scorned All-Star Jimmy Butler’s return to Target Center.
It’s not exactly how anyone would have drawn it up, of course. The Wolves are out of the playoff hunt and missing one of the two key pieces of the return they received for Butler in Robert Covington, not to mention their top two guards in Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose and big man Taj Gibson.
To make matters worse, Joel Embiid is sitting out the Sixers’ current three-game road trip for rest purposes, so fans were deprived an Embiid vs. Karl-Anthony Towns matchup, too.
Early on in this one, it seemed for a moment that Butler was about to sit things out as well after banging hips with Towns on a shot attempt underneath the basket. Butler went down on all fours in pain and Philadelphia was forced to call a timeout. But the four-time All-Star remained in the game and didn’t miss any time due to injury during the game.
It was all Sixers early as the visitors jumped out to a 41-20 lead. For the second consecutive night, however, the Wolves succeeded in climbing all the way back into the game, first relying on their bench and ultimately trying to seal the deal with Towns and the starters.
On this night, however, it was simply not in the cards. Neither Butler or Towns had a particularly inspiring game; instead it was all about Jonah Bolden, who started in Embiid’s place and knocked down five of his seven 3-point attempts. Tobias Harris led Philadelphia in scoring with 25 points as six Sixers were in double figures, including all five starters.
The Wolves trailed by 12 at start of the fourth quarter and got to within three points twice in the final frame before finally succumbing in the final couple of minutes.
Karl-Anthony Towns struggled for a second-straight game. While he scored 21 points, he shot just 8-of-17 from the floor and missed all three of his 3-point shots a night after missing all five of his long-range attempts. He was also only 5-of-8 from the free throw line and missed a big one that would have brought Minnesota within five with just under a minute-and-a-half left in the game. Towns also only had seven rebounds, two assists, and one block in 32 minutes.. Center. Minnesota Timberwolves. KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS. B
ANDREW WIGGINS. A-. Wiggins had another nice game, leading the team with 24 points (9-18 FG, 2-5 3P, 4-4 FT), six rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 36 minutes. He was instrumental in keeping Minnesota in the game early and slowed down a bit as the game went on, but his strong play of late is absolutely a positive trend for the Wolves.. Guard/Forward. Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves. DARIO SARIC. C-. Saric struggled against his former team, despite head coach Ryan Saunders running several sets through the Croatian forward early in the game. Dario finished with only four points on 1-of-6 shooting, four rebounds, and two steals in only 25 minutes.. Power Forward
C+. Okogie followed up an awesome performance with a dud, coming up with only five points and four rebounds in 22 minutes. He did a solid job when tasked with guarding Butler, but ultimately seeded playing time to a combination of <a rel=. Guard/Forward. Minnesota Timberwolves. JOSH OKOGIE
Minnesota Timberwolves. TYUS JONES. B-. Jones was solid once again, although he only played 22 minutes as Saunders chose to go with <a rel=. Point Guard
Minnesota Timberwolves. ANTHONY TOLLIVER. A. Tolliver was good again on Saturday, putting up 10 points (3-3 FG, 3-3 3P, 1-2 FT) and grabbing four rebounds in 23 minutes. He’s played much better of late and has clearly gotten into somewhat of a rhythm from beyond the arc.. Forward
GORGUI DIENG. A-. <a rel=. Center. Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves. JERRYD BAYLESS. C. For as good as Bayless was in Friday night’s win over the Warriors, he struggled mightily on Saturday but was still given plenty of leash late in the game. The veteran point guard shot just 2-of-11 from the floor and contributed five points and seven assists. He also grabbed two rebounds and had two steals.. Point Guard
The rest of the players
Keita Bates-Diop played 20 minutes and pitched in eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, making both of his 3-point attempts and contributing one block, one steal, one assist, and one rebound.
Cameron Reynolds played some key minutes late in the game once again, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes and shooting 3-of-5 from the field.
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What’s Next?
The Timberwolves have Sunday off and will play host to the Portland Trail Blazers at 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday.