Recently signed to a 10-day contract, Lance Stephenson has played for four different teams since the 2013-14 season — his last with the Indiana Pacers. So it was no surprise that he couldn’t find the locker room before the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. What is surprising is that he played nearly 20 minutes and closed out the win, finishing the game with six points off the bench.
“It’s the NBA, everyone’s gotta be ready. Whoever that next guy is, get in there, get the job done,” said Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau after the game.
“He’s been in a lot of games. Knowing the NBA is a big plus, and this is a great opportunity for him, and it’s gonna be what he makes of it: how hard he works, his professionalism, what kind of teammate he is, how he performs, how he helps us. That’s critical.”
Thibodeau went with Tyus Jones, Andrew Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad, Karl-Anthony Towns and Stephenson down the stretch. Wiggins led the team with 31 points, scoring four of them in the final minute. Muhammad had 22 points off the bench. Jones played the final 15:34 and hit a three-pointer with 19.5 seconds to seal the game.
“We’re just searching. The first half wasn’t good, so we gotta keep working at it. Working at it. Working at it,” admitted Thibodeau. “The way Bazz has shot the three, the way Tyus has shot the three, it’s open up the floor, and that gives Karl room to go.
“Tyus is a really good team defender,” he continued. “He’s still got a lot of individual work to do, but he’s very good team-wise. And so Lance gives us the physicality. Bazz is working at it. Karl has to continue to work, there’s a lot of work for him to do.”
The Wolves allowed the Raptors to shoot 60.5 percent in the first half, but clamped down on defense coming out of the locker room and outscored Toronto 30-25 and 29-21 in the final two frames. The Raptors finished the night shooting 53.2 percent.
When asked what the halftime message was, Thibodeau paused, let out a curt sigh, and said, “You know, we talked about what we wanted to improve. So we had one guy communicating well (likely Gorgui Dieng, although he did specify), but it’s not just the talk, it’s the work: it’s the effort, it’s the concentration. It’s getting it done. And not repeating the same mistakes over and over.”
Asked about the inconsistency on defense, Thibodeau scowled. “Well, we can’t lower our standard. You know what wins in this league (defense). The teams that do it consistently, they do it the entire game,” he said, his voice escalating. “So we can’t pick and choose when we do it, we can’t rest on the weak side. We can’t say, ‘I sent someone else.’ No, you gotta do your job [pounds table]! You gotta do your job [pounds table]! It’s that simple: do your job. Everyone’s counting on each other; do your job.”
Most coaches tell their players not to get high after a win. In Thibodeau’s case, a veteran reporter joked after the press conference that the coach can’t get too low after a loss. But he knows what everyone else knows: Usually teams can’t play defense in only one half and come out with a win. Especially with a player on a 10-day contract playing down the stretch and the backup point guard hitting with winning shot.
Here is the Fox Sports North feed of Thibodeau’s press conference:
Stephenson was as surprised as everyone else that he played as many minutes as he did and was able to close out the game. “I thought I was gonna be tired,” he admitted. “I just tried to take smart shots. Don’t try anything crazy, just be solid.”
Jones talked about hitting the shot that sealed it and admitted that he didn’t think he would be closing out the game with a player on a 10-day contract that is best known for blowing air into LeBron James’ ear during a playoff series.
Wiggins discussed his late-game shot and why he feels more comfortable with the ball in his hands at the end of games. “The more I’m in those situations, the more I know what to do,” he said. “Seeing a lot of different options and how the game is flowing.”
Towns finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds, his 28th 20-point, 10-rebound performance of the season, the third-highest total in the NBA. But he deferred to the play of Jones and Stephenson down the stretch, saying they played like complete professionals.
