In the first 12:38 of their contest against the Grizzlies, the Minnesota Timberwolves outscored Memphis 33-15. In the next 11:22, the Grizzlies outscored the Wolves 33-15. A tie game at halftime turned into a 107-99 loss for the Timberwolves as they were outmuscled by an experienced team that sat Marc Gasol, Tony Allen and Chandler Parsons the whole game.
“I thought we started the game well, the second quarter was a problem. Came back into the third, then couldn’t close it out,” said head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau.
“We didn’t play well in the second quarter, for sure. I thought they would make a run. Conley and Randolph, they’ve been in a lot of games. Carter. So you know they’re gonna make a run, and our fouling hurt us. At the end, obviously, we were taking fouls to stop the clock, but overall I thought that hurt us.”
Zach Randolph fouled out. JaMychal Green scored 29 points. Former Timberwolf Tony Daniels scored 11 points off the bench. So did Vince Carter. He’s 40.
It was a bad loss to start a six-game homestand.
“Our fouling hurt us,” said Thibodeau. “At the end, obviously, we were taking fouls to stop the clock, but overall I thought that hurt us.”
The team got news that Zach LaVine would be out for the season with a torn ACL, an emotional loss for the Wolves, but Thibodeau would not use that an excuse.
“It was a tough day, yeah. It was a tough day,” he admitted. “But we still have to be ready to play. We all felt the disappointment in it, but no one’s gonna feel sorry for us, so we gotta be ready to roll.”
Brandon Rush, a 31-year-old veteran in his ninth NBA season, will replace most of LaVine’s minutes in his absence. He didn’t get off to a great start, scoring only five points, was 1-3 from three-point range and was a minus-17 on the night.
“He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine,” said Thibodeau. “We all have a lot of confidence in him. First game out, tough day to come into without really having a shootaround in the morning and stuff, so he’s a good pro. He’s a good pro. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”
Rush was not alone in the minus category. All five starters except Gorgui Dieng, were minus on the night, with Ricky Rubio registering as a minus-14, Towns a minus-11 and Andrew Wiggins minus-4.
According to Wolves radio broadcaster Alan Horton, the Wolves are now 9-6 (.600) when they have a 15-point lead in a game. The league average team wins at a 90 percent clip.
“[Mike] Conley and Randolph, they’ve been in a lot of games. Carter. So you know they’re gonna make a run,” said Thibodeau.
“The fact that those guys have been through a lot of wars together, I think they have a mental toughness also. When you look at all the close games that Conley has won in his career, he and Gasol and Randolph and Carter, those guys, they don’t beat themselves.”
The young Wolves, on the other hand, do so far too often.
Below is Thibodeau’s press conference via Fox Sports North:
Shabazz Muhammad had 11 points off the bench, providing his usual energy and helping close the gap with Memphis at the end of the third quarter. Minnesota trailed 69-67 after three. “It’s a tough night for us,” he said. “We really didn’t shoot the ball well.”
Wiggins had 23 points in the loss. He discussed the impact LaVine’s injury had on the team in his post-game comments. “Zach’s someone that can’t be replaced, on and off the court,” he said. “But you’ve got to play through it.”
Towns, who finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds, discussed Memphis’ physicality and his team’s inability to execute at various points in the game:
And Rubio was candid about his the team’s inability to win a game against an opponent that was missing three of its best players:
