The Minnesota Timberwolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns for a third consecutive game, but they at least put up a fight before losing their tenth in a row.
The Minnesota Timberwolves finished off a tough road back-to-back with another solid effort, but it once again was not enough with Karl-Anthony Towns unavailable.
Towns missed his third consecutive game with a left knee sprain, and while Gorgui Dieng continued to play well in his stead, the Trail Blazers’ volume-scoring backcourt and the rebounding of Hassan Whiteside was too much for the Wolves.
Minnesota hung around in the first half but still trailed by nine at halftime. Robert Covington was scoreless at the break and Jeff Teague had just four points off the bench — not a recipe for success for a Towns-less squad.
But Teague came to life in the second half, scoring 14 points in the third quarter. Andrew Wiggins was solid throughout the game, and while Shabazz Napier and Teague struggled to contain Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum defensively, they kept the Wolves in it on the other end of the floor.
Minnesota was back within five points and had the ball with just over a minute to play, but an air-balled 3-point attempt by Shabazz Napier was followed by a huge offensive rebound and put-back by Whiteside on the other end, and Portland pushed their lead back to seven with 41 seconds to go. That was effectively it, as Minnesota couldn’t string together enough made shots and stops and ultimately lost by that same seven-point margin.
While there’s nothing good to say about a 10-game losing streak, the positive thing about the two losses in the past 25 hours is that the Wolves have competed and didn’t simply roll over. There’s something to be said for that, given how rough the past couple of weeks have been and how tough this particular back-to-back was.
Player Grades
Other Players
Josh Okogie started and played 23 minutes but was just 2-of-5 from the floor and didn’t contribute much at all. Jarrett Culver played 15 minutes off the bench and scored only two points.
Noah Vonleh played 12 minutes at the center spot and had four points and three rebounds while Keita Bates-Diop had only five points in 18 minutes of play. Jaylen Nowell had four points in 14 minutes but was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Neither Jordan Bell or Treveon Graham saw the court in this one.
The Wolves had 33 points from Wiggins, 18 apiece from Napier and Teague, and 15 from Dieng. The other six players that saw the court for the Wolves each scored five points or less.
Next Up
The Wolves are off on Sunday before taking on the Warriors on Monday evening. Golden State is still just 6-24, although they beat the Pelicans last time out.