The Minnesota Timberwolves were defeated by the Sacramento Kings 109-105 on Friday night.
Similar to what had transpired during the 111-109 loss to Houston back on Dec. 17, the Wolves despite having performed well enough to bring a lead into the final frame failed to execute on both ends when it mattered most. The Wolves shot just 2-of-14 throughout the final seven minutes of the contest, and struggled to contain DeMarcus Cousins, who finished with 32 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and four steals.
It’s worth noting that Zach LaVine scored a career-high 40 points, becoming the third Wolves player to post 40 points in a game this season. He did as much on 13-of-21 shooting (7-of-12 3PM-A).
President-coach Tom Thibodeau told the media that his club’s effort was disheartening. “We didn’t play any defense from start to finish,” said Thibodeau.
“When we needed to play our best, we played our worst.”
The Wolves allowed Sacramento to shoot 52.5 percent (42-of-80) from the field, and 51.7 percent (15-of-29) (…!) from beyond-the-arc.
Thibodeau attributed the defensive woes to a lack of discipline, execution.
“We lacked discipline. We didn’t read the ball well. We over-helped off of people we shouldn’t have been helping off of. The hard thing is, when you make things up, it’s hard to be successful like that, because you can’t stay connected — everyone is guessing what the other guy is doing instead of knowing what the other guy is doing,” Thibodeau explained.
“So, until we understand that, we’re going to have problems.”
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A disgruntled Karl-Anthony Towns was eager to escape the locker room and get into the practice gym. Towns finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, marking his 10th consecutive double-double and 20th of the season. The video below shows his conversation with the media in its entirety.
“It’s rough, but we gotta make through it,” Towns said.
“We got a game on Christmas. We gotta move on.”
