Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from nail-biting loss to Suns

Another “my turn” night on offense for the Minnesota Timberwolves

After Towns’ clunker against the Clippers, it wasn’t surprising that the Wolves and their star showed an intention to get him involved.

Towns came out like gangbusters, scoring 14 points on his unique blend of shooting and interior prowess in the first quarter.

But when the Suns took a page out of the Clippers’ playbook, defending Towns with a big forward and tasking their center with helping off a Minnesota forward, the Wolves had no answer. They kept pounding it into Towns, who continually reacted slowly to late-clock double teams as the Wolves racked up shot clock violations and rushed shots.

Minnesota didn’t adjust by turning to another offensive focus until the third quarter after Towns exited the game following a technical foul. Neither Russell nor Edwards found any success until the fourth quarter, and even then their baskets were few and far between.

Russell finished with 22 points on 21 shots while Edwards scored nine points on 2-of-11 shooting. The starting backcourt made two of their 16 3-point shots.

“We just still have to get all the guys going at the same time. That seems to be the problem,” Finch said. “We get one or two going and then we can’t get all three going.”

That is the ongoing puzzle that Finch needs to figure out as the Wolves, who have lost eight of their last nine, move on to face the Kings at home on Wednesday.