Player grades from Minnesota Timberwolves’ loss to the Golden State Warriors
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves fell by 22 points in the first game of a two-game road series to the Golden State Warriors.
Final. 130. 41. 108. 86
Sans D’Angelo Russell once again, the Minnesota Timberwolves played hard and stayed in the game until Stephen Curry went off in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, however, it was too much.
The Wolves came out of the gates a little sluggish, falling behind by a 19-4 margin at the start of the game. But from that moment forward, the Wolves pushed back several times, continuously cutting down a lead that ballooned to 18 points more than once.
Of course, they never managed to get closer than eight points in the middle stages of the game, and an inability to stop Curry and hot shooting down the stretch by what seemed like the entire Warriors lineup doomed Ryan Saunders’ squad.
Minnesota got 30 points Malik Beasley and 15 points and five assists off the bench from Jordan McLaughlin. Unfortunately, efficient offense was otherwise hard to come by for the Wolves, who saw Ricky Rubio (1-for-8), Naz Reid (5-for-16), and Anthony Edwards (4-for-13) drag down the team’s shooting percentage.
The Wolves will get another crack at the Warriors on Wednesday, and Russell should have a reasonable shot to play after being held out with a quad contusion on Monday.
Minnesota Timberwolves Player Grades
A. Malik Beasley was fantastic, scoring 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also chipped in seven rebounds and a steal and was the Wolves only consistent source of offense this side of McLaughlin. Beasley scored in a variety of ways but did a ton of damage on catch-and-shoot threes, per usual.. Wing. Minnesota Timberwolves. MALIK BEASLEY
Center. Minnesota Timberwolves. NAZ REID. C+. Naz Reid had a strong first-half offensively but had multiple defensive lapses. His second half was a tale of inefficiency, and he ultimately shot only 5-of-16 from the floor while scoring 11 points and fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Reid did pull down 10 rebounds and register two blocks, but this was an all-around disappointing game from Naz.
B+. Jarred Vanderbilt got into early foul trouble and wasn’t able to make up ground on the glass, finishing with only five rebounds in 25 minutes. He did manage to shoot 5-of-8 and score 12 points and added two assists, two steals, and two blocks. Even if Vanderbilt isn’t a major offensive factor, he fills out a stat sheet nightly and provides a jolt of energy on defense that the Wolves don’t otherwise have in their frontcourt.. Big. Minnesota Timberwolves. JARRED VANDERBILT
Minnesota Timberwolves. JOSH OKOGIE. D. Josh Okogie had yet another weirdly quiet game, finishing without a shot attempt in 17 minutes. In fact, Okogie nearly ended up with zeros across the board, logging only one assist and a steal with zero rebounds and nothing else in the box score. He was asked to do the impossible — guard Curry, of course — for stretches in this game, but Okogie was invisible even when he wasn’t locked up with Steph.. Wing
C. After looking more like himself in a starting role on Saturday, Ricky Rubio had an uneven performance in this one. The Wolves starting point guard had six points on just 1-of-8 shooting, 11 assists, four rebounds, a steal, and four turnovers. Once again, Rubio had a couple of egregious turnovers and some problematic defensive missteps and simply couldn’t buy a bucket at the rim.. Point Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. RICKY RUBIO
C. In the second quarter, Anthony Edwards had what was easily the dunk of the year so far for the Wolves, and almost surely a top-three dunk of the season so far across the league. Outside of a series of attacks to the rim, this was another painfully inefficient for Edwards. Ant scored 15 points but shot just 4-of-13; his night was partially salvaged because of his aggressiveness as he made seven trips to the line, making six of them. Edwards also had three rebounds, an assist, and a steal.. Wing. Minnesota Timberwolves. ANTHONY EDWARDS
Point Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. JORDAN MCLAUGHLIN. A. Jordan McLaughlin was arguably the best all-around player on the Wolves, putting up 15 points (7-12 FG, 1-2 3P), five assists, two rebounds, and a steal in 22 minutes off the bench, far outplaying Rubio, the starter. The Warriors allowed McLaughlin to get where he wanted on the floor, and J-Mac was happy to oblige, shooting floaters and tough layups at the rim to his heart’s content. McLaughlin has earned a crack at the rotation even once Russell returns.
B. Jaden McDaniels had a great first half but quieted down after the break. The Wolves “other” rookie finished with seven points and five rebounds off the bench and was aggressive, scoring in the paint and looking to pass, adding two assists with no turnovers. There was plenty to like about McDaniels’ performance in this one.. Forward. Minnesota Timberwolves. JADEN MCDANIELS
Other Minnesota Timberwolves Players
With Vanderbilt in early foul trouble, Jake Layman rejoined the Wolves rotation to the tune of 14 total minutes, although a few of those came as the de facto garbage time center. Layman’s first-half stint was fine, and he ultimately scored four points on four shots and had three rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Ed Davis had four points, seven rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes and gave the Warriors problems on the glass. Jarrett Culver had a great first half but was nearly invisible late; he finished with four points and a rebound.
McLaughlin, Davis, and Culver were the only Wolves to finish with positive individual plus-minus marks in a game that the visitors lost by 22 points.
Rookie two-way guard Ashton Hagans made his NBA debut, playing the final two minutes of the game.
Next. 3 things the Wolves actually do well (kind of). dark
Up next for the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves stay in the Bay Area and take on the Warriors once again on Wednesday night. That tip is also at 9 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN.