Timberwolves

12/12 RECAP: Wolves Appear Gassed Late, Fall in Overtime to 76ers 118-112

(photo credit: Jim Faklis)

In a game that was played down to the wire, that lived up to its billing and featured star power young and less young, the Timberwolves couldn’t come out victorious in a 118-112 loss late Tuesday night at Target Center.

Late-game heroics by Jimmy Butler forced overtime with the Philadelphia 76ers, but as the minutes wore on, the Wolves looked tired.

While the Sixers were likely tired as well, it showed more on Minnesota’s side – especially on the defensive side – as the Sixers shot 75 percent from the field – granted, on just 3-of-4 shooting – and 11 of 13 from the free throw line in the overtime period.

“They are a tough team. We were in position,” Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “We had to come up with a stop at the end and we didn’t get it done.”

The game, originally, was billed on the late-night ESPN broadcast in-part for Butler, but mainly for the youthful cast of potential future All-Stars scattered on both teams.

It was billed for the interior matchup of Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid, in addition to presumed Rookie of the Year winner Ben Simmons and former winner Andrew Wiggins.

Through regulation, none of them had as major an impact on the game that national viewers expected, or even hoped for. Embiid and Towns had some nice moments, but neither were able to set themselves apart from the other, proving they were the most prized young big in the league.

Then overtime hit.

After a rough start, Wiggins started to hit, but it was Embiid that emerged as the best player on the floor in the game’s definitive five minutes. He created for others, played smothering defense on Towns, all while scoring seven points of his own in the final sequence of events. He got the struggling Simmons back into the flow of things, finding him on a couple cuts for some easy points.

Despite the close nature of the game overall, it looked like the Wolves were going to pull away with it late in the game.

With six minutes and change, the Wolves held an 86-77 lead and looked to be pulling away for good. From there, the Sixers went on a 17-6 run to give them a one-point lead.

“Playoff atmosphere,” Taj Gibson said of the intensity late in the game. “Both teams just going at it, a lot of clashing and you’re going to leave it out there, that’s what’s going to happen.”

The Sixers haven’t been to the playoffs since 2012, but the Wolves’ drought is eight years longer than that.

Butler, however, was in the playoffs as recently as last season. His experience was there late in the fourth quarter when they needed him.

As the Sixers mounted their run, Butler ended a 1 for 22 start from 3-point land by hitting a pair in a row, putting the Wolves up two points with just 17 seconds to go.

On the next possession, the Sixers immediately threw the ball into Embiid, who drew a foul on the play, hitting both free throws and sending the game into overtime.

“Should have never even got there,” a deflated Towns said in the locker room. “Should have made the play I needed to make to not even have it go to overtime. I failed my team tonight.”

While mental mistakes may have happened, it was clear that the team appeared gassed to some extent. Keeping the fact of overtime in mind, the Wolves starters still played lots of minutes late, and appeared to have heavy legs when the game got tight.

With the exception of Butler, the rest of the team couldn’t find a bucket, and they struggled to stay with of their assignment on defense.

Still, the players didn’t discuss the effects of minutes in the locker room. To them, or at least Gibson, it wasn’t what lost them the game.

“Minutes are minutes,” he said. “You’ve just got to go out there and play through them. The coaching staff sees what’s going on. The game is about runs but I don’t know. You can say it’s the minutes, you can say it’s a lot of different things. It’s gonna happen when you’re playing hard, so we played hard.”

After the long night, the Wolves will have a day off before returning to the Target Center to face off against the Kings.

Until then, they will get a chance to rest up and prepare for another night. The games will keep coming, no matter how tired they might be.


Listen to Tim on Wolves Wired!

Timberwolves
The Wolves Will Have To Be Ruthless With Playoff Minutes To Go On A Run This Year
By Phil Ford - Mar 29, 2024
Timberwolves
Jordan McLaughlin’s Adaptability Remains Invaluable For the Wolves
By Jonah Maves - Mar 28, 2024
Timberwolves

Draymond Green's Antics Are Beneath the Wolves

(photo credit: Jim Faklis)

On Sunday, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 114-110 to sweep the season series 3-0. “In this league, you have to win the games you’re […]

Continue Reading