In what was most likely their worst loss of the season less than a week ago against the Memphis Grizzlies at Target Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves struggled shooting the ball while allowing the Grizzlies to hang around for a majority of the game.
That recipe was enough to hand the Wolves a tough loss against one of the NBA’s worst teams this year.
On Friday night, Minnesota dealt with much of the same for a majority of the game against the tanking Dallas Mavericks. Luckily for the Wolves, they were able to escape Dallas with a rather ugly 93-92 victory that gives them a much-needed win in a tight Western Conference playoff race.
Minnesota kicked off the game slower than typically seen from them this season, and that was mainly because of their struggles shooting the ball. The Wolves opened up the game shooting just 26.1 percent from the field to trail 20-16 after the first quarter, tallying their lowest point total in a quarter this season.
Midway through the second quarter, Minnesota started to wake up and get things back on track. Trailing by as many as nine points in the first half, the Wolves got back into things right before the break, highlighted by scoring a quick five points — a corner 3 from Jamal Crawford and a steal and lay-in by Karl-Anthony Towns — in 10 seconds to cut the Mavericks’ lead to 46-44 at the break.
In the third quarter, Minnesota began to pull away, regaining the lead and riding momentum it gained at the end of the first half. Holding a 67-64 lead going into the fourth, that’s all the room the Wolves needed to pull away and hold off Dallas for the victory.
Along with providing the Wolves with a much-needed lift at the end of the first half that turned the tide for Minnesota, Crawford was the difference maker late in the game coming off the bench, coming up with multiple big buckets late. The 38-year-old finished with a team-best and season-high 24 points in 31 minutes.
A game after tallying a franchise-record 56 points, Towns struggled from the field but finished with a 20-20 performance of 21 points and 20 rebounds in 44 minutes.
With the win, the Wolves move up in the West standings thanks to a few losses by two teams that entered Friday’s games ahead of Minnesota. Oklahoma City — which entered Friday as the No. 5 seed — fell to the Denver Nuggets in overtime, while New Orleans — which entered Friday as the No. 6 seed — fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With those two losses and the Wolves’ win, Minnesota jumps up from the No. 7 seed to tied with the Thunder for fifth place in the standings.
It was an ugly win for the Wolves, but it was a win nonetheless. One that helped them make a jump in the playoff race.
Minnesota is faced with yet another tough test at 6 p.m. on Sunday, when the Utah Jazz come to Minneapolis.
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