After the Wolves fell 92-89 to the Wizards on Tuesday, all Tom Thibodeau wanted to do was look at the film.
And after a 20-9 run to end the fourth quarter that went in favor of the visiting Wizards, the Timberwolves’ attempt to start their most recent back-to-back was ruined in the final moments of the game.
With the game tied at 89, Otto Porter came through with a pull-up elbow jumper with 25 seconds left to give the Wizards their first lead since the first half.
On the following possession, the ball started moving the way Thibodeau wanted. But Andrew Wiggins still missed the bucket to tie it. After a Jimmy Butler offensive rebound, Wiggins missed a 3. After yet another Butler rebound, the play ended in a turnover.
By then, it was over.
After the game, the team’s mood matched the result. The locker room was quiet, Butler was silent, and Thibodeau’s answers were shorter and more to-the-point than ever before.
“We’ll take a look at the film.”
Eventually, he started to open up, and the frustration started to show itself.
“I thought we had some open 3s, and because we weren’t shooting great, I thought we hesitated on a couple that were wide open,” he said. “The good part is the extra pass, the unselfishness, but I thought we passed up some open ones.”
While both Nemanja Bjelica and Jeff Teague both missed action with the same injuries that have lingered them for a week, the Wizards were without All-Star John Wall.
In the first half, the Wolves played like a team looking to take advantage of the shorthanded Wizards. After all, the Wolves’ top three options were still on the floor, and point guard fill-in Tyus Jones was having his second consecutive nice start.
Jones finished with 12 points, seven assists and zero turnovers, but was just as unhappy as the rest of the crew when the game was over.
While he’s new to the starting role and the minutes that come with it – especially under a coach like Thibodeau – he refused to let that become a narrative for what happened.
“Everyone’s tired. [Washington is] tired. It’s a physical game. It’s taxing,” Jones said. “That’s not an excuse. We’ve got to make plays down the stretch.”
Still, the team did appear gassed as the fourth quarter hit. No Wolves starter played under 37 minutes, and no bench player got above 16. To add to the bench misery, the Wolves’ second unit had fewer combined minutes than the Wizards’ backups had points scored.
But the starters continued to hold their own. While Andrew Wiggins struggled to get into a rhythm, others were great.
Butler had a bad scoring night but still finished with 17 points and 10 assists, Taj Gibson had 16 points and 11 boards, and Towns had his usual 20-plus point, 10-plus rebound performance, all while playing one of his best defensive games of his career.
But Towns’ stat line wasn’t the main story for him. On a night where the overwhelming majority of his shots came from the paint, and his tumbles to the floor were at a season high, he somehow ended the game with zero free throw attempts.
After the game, Towns simply credited Washington’s Ian Mahinmi for his physicality, and had very little to say about the lack of foul calls.
“We just lost,” he said.
His frustration was obvious on the floor, and his coach shared his frustration, but during and after the game.
“I’m gonna look at it. If I see something, I’ll to send it in,” Thibodeau said. “But it seems like a guy that goes to the basket as much as he does should get at least a couple free throws.”
Going back to the film is something Thibodeau has made a career out of doing obsessively. When he goes back and looks at this one, he’ll likely see some good moments offensively, some pretty ball movement, and some great hustle from guys that haven’t always shown a will to do that.
He’ll also see how that all seemed to disappear in the fourth quarter.
What he’ll see on the team plane, headed to New Orleans to complete the back-to-back, is his group of players, likely still as dejected as they appeared to be in the locker room.
For whatever it might be worth, this group seems aware of what happened Tuesday. Back-to-back or not, it’s hard to envision this group letting the same happen all over again.
For whatever room of doubt there may be, Thibodeau and his staff will be looking at the film. That much is certain.
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