They almost had it.
The Wolves fell to the Rockets 104-101 on Sunday night in their first playoff
game in 14 years.
And while a 3-pointer in the final seconds would have tied the game and added
another five minutes on the clock, Jimmy Butler missed a shot and here the
Wolves are, down 0-1.
Butler was asked after the game if it was a “missed opportunity” for the Wolves
to steal one from the best team, record-wise, in the NBA.
“Nah,” Butler said. “We got another great opportunity coming on Wednesday. Go
back to the drawing boards, change some things up and figure it out.”
Butler, in just his fourth game back from a knee injury that kept him out the
previous 17, wasn’t at his best. He finished with just 13 points, five rebounds,
three assists while shooting 4-for-11 from the field. He did have two steals,
though, which was right at his career-high season average of 2.0.
Butler struggled offensively last night, but can still make plays like these to
impact the game in other ways. pic.twitter.com/0NfGxYYSHI
It’s Game 1 in a seven-game series, so there’s no reason to panic. Butler will
contribute more offensively as the series moves along, but the main focus for
Butler and the Wolves is slowing down James Harden after his 44-point
performance.
“He’s a hell of a player, everybody knows that,” Butler said of the likely MVP.
“But you don’t just guard him with one guy. It’s everybody out there. Everybody
has to be in the correct position. Challenge shots. Contest them at the rim.
More than anything, if there is a miss, we need to get the rebound and take off
the other way. But we didn’t do any of that tonight. But we’ve got to be better
on Wednesday.”
The Wolves didn’t have practice on Monday, presumably a film and shooting day.
They’ll be back at it Tuesday in Houston for practice. We’ll have plenty of
content, per usual, here.
Game 2 is set for 8:30 p.m. at the Toyota Center. The game will air on Fox
Sports North, TNT and Buz’n 102.9.
Player: Jimmy Butler
Player: James Harden
Media Content:
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/butler-looking-positives-and-ahead-wednesday
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Jimmy Butler, James Harden,
Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves
Media Thumbnail:
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Taxonomy: 2018 Playoffs
Story Link:
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/butler-looking-positives-and-ahead-wednesday
