Basketball is indeed a game of runs.
The Timberwolves were on the right side of the most important one in Tuesday night’s 139-134 win over the Pelicans in New Orleans.
Minnesota went on a 20-7 run in the fourth quarter and outscored the Pelicans 30-23 in the final frame for the win.
This time of year, there’s a lot of talk of teams doing something that rhymes with ranking. The Timberwolves aren’t one of those teams and it’s the second time in the last week the Timberwolves have beaten a team vying for postseason positioning. Last Wednesday the team beat the Heat, the East’s No. 4 team. And while the Pelicans are in ninth place in the West, they went into the game just 3.5 games back from the eighth seed in the West. Minnesota is a team trying to figure out how pieces fit on the run, certainly no easy task in early March.
Let’s recap this notebook-style:
- Last week, I wrote about how dangerous the Timberwolves’ new-look backcourt could look. That was certainly on display in this one. D’Angelo Russell (23 points) and Malik Beasley (28 points) combined for 51 total points while Russell added eight assists. While Russell had a tough night shooting (8-for-21 FG, 3-for-9 3PT), Beasley made up for that, shooting 11-for-13 from the field and 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. Giving up 134 points isn’t ideal, especially for the sleep schedule for David Vanterpool, but these two are the spark that gets Minnesota’s instant offense going.
- After struggling over his last four or so games, Naz Reid looked really good in this one. The rookie who has been thrust into the starting lineup finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Sure, he shot just 5-for-12 from the field but he provided a stabilizing force inside which is something the team really hasn’t had consistently since Karl-Anthony Towns was hurt. Reid had a friend playing in the game who you might have heard of. Zion Williamson? You recognize the name? Williamson was everything we’ve heard over the last 15 games, finishing with 25 points and eight rebounds. The Timberwolves didn’t totally contain him, but they did enough.
- How about the bench?! Minnesota’s second unit outscored New Orleans’48-22. James Johnson, who has seemingly become everyone’s favorite new Wolf, led the way with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jordan McLaughlin, who is certainly more than just a two-way player, finished with 13 points and six assists. And fellow rookie Jarrett Culver, who has had an up-and-down season, had an up on Tuesday, finishing with 11 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field.
- We’ve talked about three of the five starters. Josh Okogie and Juancho Hernangomez certainly deserve some love. Okogie finished with 11 points. That’s nothing wild. But his energy, as always, was just off the charts. He’s not perfect, but his intent always is. Hernangomez continued his success as a stretch-four, shooting 2-for-5 from deep and finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds. Juancho has now hit double-digits in four straight games.
- We’ve heard so much about shot selection over the last six months with this team. The Timberwolves shot 14-for-34 from the 3-point line (41.2 percent) and 17-for-20 from the free-throw line (85 percent). As a whole, the team shot 55.7 percent. Only nine of 97 shots came from the midrange and all were from Russell and Beasley. The two hit four of those shots. When you score 139 points, it seems silly to complain about where eight of those points came from.
The win improves the Timberwolves to 18-42. They won’t get too much time to celebrate considering they host the Bulls at Target Center on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.