The Wolves put in a great effort but couldn’t close out down the stretch on
Friday night, falling to the Dallas Mavericks in an absolute heartbreaker,
119-115. The Wolves came back from down 14 to go up one with under a minute
left, but were unable to respond after rookie sensation Luka Doncic hit a dagger
three-pointer with 23.9 seconds left in the game.
It’s a bit of a wonder the Wolves were in the position they were down the
stretch given how they looked in the first half, but that only makes this one
hurt more. Minnesota was out of sorts to begin the game–they missed countless
shots that spun around the rim and out, and the fast and free style they have
started experimenting with led to too many turnovers and easy opportunities for
the Mavericks.
The Wolves went into the half down 11 but roared back in the opening minutes of
the third quarter. They went on a 13-2 run to open the period and shot 6-of-9
from three in the period. This was a game of runs. The Mavs and Wolves went back
in forth going on hot streaks and at the end of the day Dallas just got a few
more buckets to fall.
THIRTEEN – ZERO RUN.TIE GAME. pic.twitter.com/FkazN5325b
I wish there was a stat for narrow misses–especially in the first half, the
Wolves missed countless shots that rolled around the rim and out. They weren’t
throwing up bricks, they got good looks, but they just couldn’t get shots to
fall.
did ya’ll feel that in Canada? pic.twitter.com/MDrbRMBNaf
There were a few positive things to take away from tonight, first and foremost
being that Karl-Anthony Towns is still a monster. Despite early foul trouble,
Towns finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, moving into sixth
place on the Wolves’ franchise scoring list. He shot 57.1 percent from the
field. Taj Gibson was also phenomenal. He had a huge tip-in to put the Wolves up
late in the fourth-quarter before Doncic’s three and he had a season-high 15
rebounds in the game.
This loss hurts, but luckily the Wolves don’t have long to dwell on it. They’re
back to play Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. You
can find tickets for that game here.
A few things I noticed:
Media Content:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/wolves-come-back-are-narrowly-defeated-mave
ricks
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Timberwolves
Media Thumbnail:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/sites/timberwolves/files/recap_cover_7.jpg
Story Link:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/wolves-come-back-are-narrowly-defeated-mave
ricks
