The Timberwolves couldn’t slow down the Pistons front court as they blew a winnable game in Detroit on Friday night.
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Coming off of a blowout loss to the mighty Cavaliers in Cleveland on Wednesday night, there was some pressure to avoid a losing streak while facing a beatable Pistons team in Detroit on Friday.
Alas, the Timberwolves could not handle the Pistons front court of Andre Drummond, Jon Leuer, and Marcus Morris, and despite drawing within a possession in the final minutes, ultimately lost by eight.
Morris had a huge night, scoring 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including a circus shot in the corner over a double-team in what was a two possession game at the time with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota native Jon Leuer scored 24 points while knocking down 4-of-7 shot attempts from beyond the arc. Drummond only scored 12 points but dominated the glass with 18 rebounds and was removed from the game before Tom Thibodeau could deploy his “Hack-a-Drummond” strategy.
The Wolves scuffled on the offensive end of the floor in the first quarter, barely clearing 10 points in the frame in the opening six minutes. Zach LaVine was the only starter hitting from the field with any regularity, and the visitors trailed by a tally of 24-18 at the end of the frame.
The second quarter was better for Minnesota, but more because of the play from the Wolves second unit than anything else. While the starters continued to struggle, the Tyus Jones-led second unit (Kris Dunn missed the game due to a sore right hand) outplayed the Pistons’ reserves. Shabazz Muhammad continued his scorching hot streak and ultimately finished the game with 15 points.
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The Wolves trailed by a single point at halftime after they allowed a Tobias Harris three-pointer as the clock ran out.
In the third quarter, Minnesota’s starters continued their struggle, and the Pistons surged ahead by seven points as the fourth quarter began. And early in the frame, the Wolves lost their starting shooting guard as LaVine crashed awkwardly to the floor on a drive to the basket and appeared to get his right leg caught underneath him.
As of this writing, there has yet to be an update on LaVine’s status. It would be irresponsible to speculate on what the injury might be, of course, but Zach did stay in the game and play a few more minutes before retreating to the locker room. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but there it is. The only thing that seemed clear was that it was a lower leg injury — either the knee or shin, most likely.
At any rate, the Wolves trimmed what had been a 10-point deficit to just three points before a Detroit timeout, but a flurry from the Pistons brought the lead right back to double-digits. Minnesota would not get within five points the rest of the way.
Star of the Night
Marcus Morris: 36 points (12-19 FG, 5-9 3P, 7-11 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, 2 turnovers
Morris exposed one of the Timberwolves’ greatest weaknesses: the ability to guard stretch-fours. Gorgui Dieng isn’t quick enough to guard the best shooters who can also put the ball on the floor with some semblance of success, and Nemanja Bjelica can’t stay in front of many quick forwards, either.
Morris was great, and his tough jumper in the corner in the final minute was essentially the dagger in this one.
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Towns and LaVine were the only Wolves players to play complete games. It actually seemed as though KAT wasn’t involved in the Minnesota offense too much after the opening possessions of both the first and third quarters. And when he was quiet, so was the Wolves’ offense.
LaVine was great until the injury, knocking down jumpers with effiency and getting the rim with ease. Wiggins, on the other hand, was a bit ragged in this one and did not contribute in categories outside of points.
Rubio struggled mightily in the first half, turning the ball over frequently and missing a series of makeable shots. The Wolves weren’t knocking down open jumpers, so the assists weren’t coming, either. The second half was a different story, however, and Rubio ended up playing a solid all-around game outside of the six turnovers.
Muhammad was great once again, hitting his first three three-point attempts. Weirdly, he did not grab a single rebound in 23 minutes of play.
Who’s Up Next?
The Timberwolves will head back to Minnesota for a season-long six-game homestand. There are some winnable games, but it begins with a tough second night of a back-to-back as they host the Memphis Grizzlies at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
