The Minnesota Timberwolves were rusty in the first quarter following the All-Star Break, and had their patented awful third quarter, but through good defense and a strong performance from their star players were able to beat the trade deadline hampered Dallas Mavericks 97-84 on Friday night.
“Turnovers were high, particularly for Karl,” said head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau, referring to Towns’ season-high seven turnovers. “He had to work his way. And they were coming quick on him, they did a good job with their double-teams. And I thought he had good reads, I just thought he missed some easy outlets that he coulda gotten the ball out.
“As the game went on, I thought he got stronger and stronger.”
Wiggins shook off the rust immediately, scoring 16 points in the first quarter and finishing with a team-high 27 points. It was his 16th consecutive game with 20-plus points, matching Kevin Garnett for the longest such streak in franchise history. Garnett, for the record, did it twice.
“His playmaking is really improved,” said Thibodeau of Wiggins, who also had three assists and seven rebounds. “I want him to trust the pass. We have to shoot the ball well, and if we take the right shots, we’re gonna shoot it well.”
Ricky Rubio had 13 points and 14 assists, his 12th double-double of the season. He shrugged off the trade rumors that surrounded him at the deadline in the locker room, saying “What happened? Nothing happened,” in jest.
“We didn’t score the way we would’ve liked, but we needed those easy baskets,” said Thibodeau when asked about Rubio’s outlet passes. “I think that’s one of the ways for Karl and Wig to go against the defense before it’s set, where they can get double-teams on them.”
The team was also buoyed by the bench, led by Tyus Jones’ 11 points and two headband-wearing Shabazz Muhammad dunks.
“I mean, a lot of it was the matchups, and I’m trying to find ways to get him on to the floor,” Thibodeau said of Jones. “They play a lot of two point guard lineups, so I thought it was a good opportunity for that.
“I thought he played well. Very well.”
The Wolves did have their usual Third Quarter Meltdown, blowing a 15-point lead, but after being tied 75-75, they went on a 22-9 run to finish the game.
“A number of guys played well. I thought Wig got us off to a good start, and then he made big plays for us in the fourth. Ricky played very well. I thought G played some terrific defense for us, and we needed that. It’s not reflected in his line, but I thought he played very, very well for us.”
It was a watered down Dallas team, make no mistake, but to pick up a win — or maybe prevent a loss, depending on how you want to see it — before a four-game road trip is important for a team looking to sneak into the playoffs in the West.
Here’s the FSN feed of Thibodeau’s post-game press conference:
Jones, as always, downplayed his contributions after the game despite potentially making a case for more playing time down the stretch.
Wiggins, too, was his usual quiet self despite tying one of Garnett’s franchise records. In fact, he was so quiet that he got a bit drowned out by Towns and Jordan Hill, whose lockers are right next to his, discussing their Red Cow dinner orders.
Towns, right after getting off the phone with Red Cow, discussed his slow start and what Rubio means to the team.
And Rubio shrugged off having to refocus after all the trade rumors.
