The Minnesota Timberwolves dropped a winnable game against the shorthanded Phoenix Suns on Saturday afternoon at Target Center.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were shorthanded on Saturday afternoon against the Phoenix Suns, but the Suns were shorthanded, too, and the Wolves had the best player on the floor for either team.
All of it should have added up to a narrow Wolves win, but instead, a combination of poor shooting, bad officiating, and struggles from the free throw line put the Wolves on the wrong side of a two-point result.
The Suns took control early in the game and held a lead of some kind nearly wire-to-wire. The Wolves hung around and made several pushes, but it seemed as though every time they made some progress and appeared to grab some momentum back, the Suns answered.
Karl-Anthony Towns was great throughout this one, and the Wolves probably short-circuited their offense a bit by not making a more concerted effort to get him the ball in the post. Frank Kaminsky simply couldn’t stop him, regardless of where he was on the floor.
The free throw disparity was a joke from the first quarter on, with the officials missing at least three or four calls that should have led to free throw attempts from the Wolves. Things only balanced out slightly in the second half, but the Suns absolutely seemed to be getting the benefit of the whistle from the jump and it affected the flow of the game.
Of course, when Minnesota got to the free throw line they struggled mightily, making just 10 of their 17 attempts. The Wolves also struggled mightily from outside the arc, per usual, finishing 12-of-42 (28.6 percent).
The Wolves had a shot to tie the game late, but Ryan Saunders chose not to call a timeout in a broken floor situation with 14 seconds left. Towns attempted a 3-pointer from the edge of the mid-court logo that was on line but just missed. After a pair of Devin Booker free throws, the Wolves called a timeout and ran a play for a Towns 3-pointer that went in, making the final margin only two points.
If only the timeout had been called the first time around; perhaps the game would have been tied instead of the Wolves facing a five-point deficit with only a few seconds remaining.
All in all, this was a disappointing loss for the Wolves. Despite missing Robert Covington, Josh Okogie, Jake Layman, Treveon Graham, and Shabazz Napier, the Suns were missing two starters in Aron Baynes an Ricky Rubio.
Better days are ahead for Saunders’ crew, but that doesn’t make this one hurt any less.
Player Grades
Other Players
Vonleh started but only played eight minutes. He was ineffective early, shooting 0-of-3 from the floor and grabbing only two rebounds.
Gorgui Dieng played the 12 minutes behind Towns, but he didn’t attempt a shot. He did grab five rebounds and log an assist and a block.
While Saunders was busy searching for a successful combination in the first half, he gave Jordan Bell a shot. Bell was solid, putting up three points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes. He also had a pair of blocks and was a +8 while on the floor. Bell’s athleticism and activity was a big part of the Wolves being able to hang around for much of the second half.
Treveon Graham had an arm contusion and didn’t play, so Jaylen Nowell was called up from the G League and finished with three points and three assists in 14 minutes. He was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc but did have a nice old-fashioned 3-point play along the baseline in the second half.
What’s Next?
The Wolves will play six of their next seven games on the road, starting with the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.