The Wolves beat the Suns on Tuesday night 112-111. It was a very exciting game. There was a game winner. There was a 30-point performance. Unfortunately, there was no Cherry Berry.
Here are three observations from our Kyle Ratke on the win:
You'll remember Tuesday's win mostly for Andrew Wiggins' game-winning shot. And that's what you should remember most from this game if you had to pick just one thing. It'd be weird if you remembered something from the first quarter over that, but I don't control your memory so I guess remember whatever you want.
The game-winning shot from the left elbow after some physical defense via P.J. Tucker was Minnesota's first game-winning shot since 2012 when Luke Ridnour hit a floater to take down the Utah Jazz.
I'm very emotional right now. https://t.co/RY40O4kQnL
Coach Tom Thibodeau on the shot (from Wiggins, not Ridnour, but I would also like to hear his thoughts on that shot, too):
“To his credit, you have to be able to take the hit, the hold and I thought he got grabbed a little bit, he got through that and he got the shot off,” Thibodeau said after the game. “He got to his spot which is part of the design of that play, to get to his spot. He had the concentration and the mental toughness to take all the stuff that happened on that play and make the shot. It was a great play by him.”
Wiggins was absolutely clutch in this win, finishing with 14 of his 31 points in the final quarter. After the game, Wiggins sounded like he was incredibly confident even before he hit the final shot.
“I was going to get the ball one way or another,” Wiggins said. “My mind was made up when I got the ball. I was going to shoot it, I got to my spot. It's my shot. It felt good. It was first game winner in the NBA so if felt good to see the ball go in. I felt comfortable; I was in a good rhythm.”
Wiggins later said that he thought he played “all right” in the game. When a 21-year-old is his toughest critic, you've probably got yourself a good one.
And with Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine, the Wolves have three “good ones.”
It was fun watching Towns and veteran Tyson Chandler go up against each other. Chandler is 34. Town is 21. So by simple math, there was a 44-day stretch when Chandler was 13 years old and Towns was not born yet.
(Sorry for making you feel old, Tyson. These are just facts and your birthday is public information.)
Chandler turned back the clock, finishing with 22 points and 17 rebounds while shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the field.
While Towns' numbers weren't quite as great, he still finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. It was good for his 34th double-double of the season which ranks third in the NBA behind James Harden (39) and Russell Westbrook (35). Those two are also very good at the basketball.
Towns is now averaging 22.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and three assists per game and has a very real shot of being named to the Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve.
With the win, the Wolves have now swept the season series over the Suns, 3-0. That's fun. What's also fun is that the team has won three-straight games. What's even more fun (and I'm saying “fun” assuming you're reading this because you're a Timberwolves fan), is that the Wolves are now winners of six of their last eight games.
The Wolves started off the season slow, sure. But they are 17-28 now and just 2.5 games out from a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
And the team has a nice little stretch coming up. Nine of the team's next 11 games will be played at home, including three straight starting on Thursday against the Pacers, following by the Nets and Magic. Very winnable games.
Thursday's tip is set for 7 p.m. on FOX Sports North and WCCO 830-AM.
