This wasn’t the same Wolves team that became the butt of a lot of NBA jokes Wednesday night after losing to the then-winless Philadelphia 76ers. Though the result was the same as Minnesota fell 114-112 at the hands Houston Rockets, the effort that was lacking against Philadelphia was there on Friday night at Target Center.
“We were a lot better than we were two days ago and some things that we worked on in practice we were able to come back and play that way so that was a positive,” Saunders said. “We played hard and we competed.”
Postgame | Thad Young
Saunders was adamant that he tested his team at practice and at shootaround since the loss to the 76ers and his team responded on the floor.
In a listless performance two nights earlier, Minnesota was outhustled in every 50-50 situation en route to one of the more embarrassing losses in recent memory. That wasn’t the case against the Rockets as the Wolves hustled all over the floor and hung with a much better team until the very end. They forced overtime after trailing by as many as 13 points in the final frame, and it took an acrobatic layup by Nick Johnson with 0.8 seconds left in overtime for the Rockets to escape with a win.
“We’re a little mad that we could have won and we probably should have won,” Zach LaVine said. “We did a lot better than we did last game. … We can’t dwell on it because we have to play the champs tomorrow.”
Saunders said two night ago his team went from “we don’t want to lose to the winless 76ers” early in the game, to “we might lose to the winless 76ers” midway through the contest, and ultimately to “we lost to the winless 76ers” as soon as the final buzzer sounded.
“That’s the thing about having young players is that they're pretty resilient and they forget pretty quickly and then move on,” Saunders said before the game. “We feel like we took some baby steps yesterday and took some baby steps this morning and just trying to get through to players and have them play the right way.”
Saunders was right about his players having a short memory as the Wolves looked like a different team from the tipoff.
Minnesota’s bench gave it a spark in the second quarter just when it looked like the Rockets were poised to pull away. Jeff Adrien entered the game, and while he didn’t score, he provided a spark with hustle plays all over the floor. Minnesota was a completely different squad with Adrien on the court and went on a 12-0 run en route to taking 57-55 lead at the half.
“That group did an unbelievable job there,” Saunders said.
Shabazz Muhammad also took over in that span and netted 12 points on the bench in the first 24 minutes of the game. Muhammad had a team-high 20 points in the matchup and countless plays that go beyond the stat sheet. Zach LaVine finished with 17 points, though he did let up the final bucket to Johnson.
“He played a lot of minutes and he’s probably not used to playing that many minutes,” Saunders said of LaVine. “So it’s a learning process.”
James Harden fouled out, but did a lot of damage while he was in scoring 38 points and was 11-for-17 from the floor and 13-for-14 from the free throw line. Donatas Motiejunas might have been even bigger down the stretch, though, as he forced overtime with cold-blooded plays down the stetch. Then, of course, there was Johnson.
LaVine, who seemed disappointed afterwards because Johnson was his man on the game-deciding play, said he could see the growth amid the loss and said he’d like to see that continue moving forward.
“We’re just trying to get it clicking,” LaVine said
Saunders said after the game against the 76ers that things could get a lot worse before they get better. That might be true with games against the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder coming up. That said if the team plays with an effort comparable to Friday night, it could prove Saunders wrong.
“We got better yesterday in practice and we got better today in shootaround,” Saunders said. “We just have to continue to carry some of those things through.”
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LEADER OF THE PACK
Shabazz Muhammad has been one of the best players on the Wolves over the last couple weeks and that didn’t change against the Rockets. Muhammad, who plays with an unmatched intensity every time he steps on the court, finished with 20 points in the game. If he continues to perform at this level, he’ll earn playing time even when some of the key guys return from injury.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
A highlight in and of itself was the simple fact that Minnesota hung with the Rockets for a bulk of the game. Houston is clearly the better team, and even though it’s also without three starters, it boasts the distinct advantage of having a go-to guy in James Harden. Harden snapped in the win as the Wolves had no answer for the array of moves he brings to the floor. That said the Wolves hung around, and for a young team, that could give it some swagger moving forward.
NUMBERS GAME
-- Houston started the game 6-for-6 from the floor, and it started 5-for-5 from long range. Though that hot start was unsustainable, it allowed the Rockets to jump out to a nice lead early on.
-- Thaddeus Young has struggled over the last few contests and those struggles stopped against Houston. Young netted 10 points in the first quarter as he went to work against Tarik Black on the low block.
-- Minnesota went on a 12-0 thanks to its bench players. It was a different team with its reserves — namely Shabazz Muhammad and Jeff Adrien (yes, Jeff Adrien played a role in the run) — on the floor and the teams entered the locker room with a 57-55 lead.
-- James Harden had about the quietest 21 points possible in the first half. He got really hot late in the half and was 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. Harden finished with 38 points in the game.
-- Minnesota got 35 points from its bench in the game. Shabazz Muhammad led the way with 20 points and Chase Budinger chipped in with 10 points.
LOOKING AHEAD
Minnesota got on a plane right after the loss to the Rockets en route to San Antonio. It will take on the Spurs on Saturday night as a part of yet another back-to-back. Flip Saunders said Friday that Mo Williams will not make the trip so the Wolves will shorthanded again. In contrast the Spurs will be at near full strength.