Timberwolves

11/13 RECAP: Timberwolves Get Back on Track in Road Win Over Jazz

This was a game they needed.

After a pair of bad losses – one expected against Golden State, and one unacceptable against Phoenix – the Timberwolves looked focused and ready on both ends of the floor, as their 109-98 win over the Utah Jazz felt like a complete win.

Mostly, anyway.

The entire starting lineup brought different things that contributed to the big lead – one they never relinquished – while the bench brought a (mostly) positive showcase of its own.

The Wolves got off to a hot start, leading after the first quarter 33-14. The difference between this game and Saturday’s loss to Phoenix was how they handled the early lead. The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, but the (somewhat irrationally) feared third quarter was another double-digit win for Tom Thibodeau and company.

The fourth quarter was an entirely different beast, however. In what should have been a simple closeout of what was looking to be a blowout, the Timberwolves bench allowed the Jazz to get back into the game. When the starters came back in, the lead nearly fell to single digits.

The inability to properly close out a game, especially against a shorthanded team like the Jazz – who are without their star big man Rudy Gobert for 4-to-6 weeks – is a problem that clearly needs fixing. Still, this was clearly still a plus game for the Wolves, even past the actual score. If nothing else, it was a game that got them, and several individual components, back on track.

It was a way for Karl-Anthony Towns to get back on track, especially from deep. He came into Monday’s game shooting just 10 of 42 from behind the 3-point line, but managed to find his stroke in this one, shooting an impressive 4 of 6. The key for him may not have been the shooting itself, but rather his hesitation when getting the ball in a spot to score from deep. Against the Gobert-less Jazz, KAT did not hesitate, and it showed.

It was a game that got Jeff Teague back on track as well. Teague, a former All-Star who has struggled to find his place since joining the Timberwolves, has experienced several lows start to the season. Still, Monday was another example of why Thibodeau brought him aboard, and why he might be the correct fit in Minnesota’s offense going forward.

He finished the night with 22 points, and even despite his five turnovers, the eye test suggested he had a higher comfort level in this game. So far, it seems as though comfort and confidence may be one of the main factors for Teague’s success.

A guy like Jimmy Butler, however, never lacks for confidence. That’s what makes his recent struggles so confusing. Still, he too seemed to figure things out Monday.

After a series of bad shooting nights, Butler looked to be back to his old self in this one, scoring 21 points on just 12 shots, all while keeping in his newfound facilitator role, featuring a 10-assist double-double. In short, Butler simply looked more like his old self in this game, potentially creating a route back to the All-Star most NBA fans are used to.

Some players kept the good times going, especially Taj Gibson and Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins, who mostly deferred to Towns, Butler and Teague, was the key scorer down the stretch to help avoid any chance of a last-second heartbreaker. Taj Gibson continued his stellar play on both ends, finishing with a double-double, and a nice shooting night from inside the paint. He even got one of his 3-pointers to go, making him a clear 3 for 10 from deep to start the season.

More than anything else, this was a night where the Wolves were able to get back on track as a collective unit. They never trailed in this game, held the Jazz starters to low scoring nights, and fought off fourth-quarter adversity when it started coming.

The final quarter proves they aren’t done with what they’re trying to accomplish. Now that they’re 13 games into the season, it’s looking like this team isn’t going to have all the answers for a while. In the meantime, it looks like they’re going to have to win a fair chunk of their games on talent alone. Some nights, that will work. Other nights, even against bad teams, it might not.

The good news? Even after nights as bad as Saturday, the good players tend to bounce back, as do the good teams. On Monday, the Timberwolves bounced back. It’s too early to tell where they’ll go from here, but the signs are good.

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