Timberwolves can’t get key shots to fall in loss to Bulls
Minnesota had a number of opportunities to blow the roof off Target Center on Sunday.
The Wolves’ defense suffocated Chicago in the fourth quarter to erase what was once a 16-point deficit and briefly claim a lead in the fourth quarter.
But, to the Bulls’ credit, they continued to make shots — even tough ones — to inch back in front.
To Minnesota’s credit, the Wolves continued to generate good looks in the fourth with chances to take or build upon the lead. Seemingly none of them fell as Minnesota fell 109-101.
The Wolves missed their final nine 3-point attempts. Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Naz Reid — players who’ve knocked down a lot of shots for Minnesota, particularly of late — couldn’t get even one to drop. Minnesota scored just two points over the final five minutes.
“Turnovers hurt a little bit, but I thought, honestly, we had like two or three offensive rebounds and wide open shots. We just didn’t make shots,” Conley said. “When it comes down to that at the end of the game, you got to put the ball in the hole. We just didn’t do that and they did.”
You can still win games when that’s the case, as the Wolves have proven at various points this season on nights where the offense sputtered. But it can’t happen on evenings when the opponent is knocking down shots at the clip Chicago did Sunday.
The Bulls went 17 for 29 from 3-point territory. Alex Caruso made his first six attempts from deep. DeMar DeRozan had 27 points and eight assists while operating in the mid-range and Nikola Vucevic had 19 points while also working in the mid-range.
“We gave them threes. They had to shoot them. They were wide open. A lot of them were uncontested in the first half. It’s not who we are, especially when I’m there. We gotta stick to what we do,” Rudy Gobert said. “I thought they had way too many open threes in the first half. We knew they were drive-and-kick, but I feel like we were overhelping a lot, especially with me in paint most of the time. So, it’s on us for that as a team. … They had a lot of confidence because … we gave them the confidence in the first half.”
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Minnesota may have had a defensive scheme error in the first half, as Minnesota (51-23) had its guards chase the pick-and-roll ball handler, leaving Vucevic open to pop. In the second half, if the big man popped, the Wolves essentially just switched defensively.
That forced Chicago into a number of tougher looks and even some turnovers.
Minnesota took a lead with 5 minutes, 21 seconds to play on a rebound and putback from Gobert, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Conley tacked on 19 points and seven assists, but the other three starters went a combined 17 for 44 from the field.
“We can’t ask Rudy for nothing more. He was giving us everything. We’ve got to play better,” Edwards said. “Mike Conley played great tonight, but the other three guys, we’ve got to figure it out.”
And, down the stretch, the Bulls (36-39) found a way to hit shots that Minnesota couldn’t answer. That hurt on a day when Denver and Oklahoma City both won, pushing Minnesota back down to third in the Western Conference standings.
“We had the lead with four minutes left, so they wasn’t shooting that well. We just missed a lot of shots. They can shoot as well as they want, we still supposed to win that game. We got as many open shots as we can asked for, we just missed them,” Edwards said. “It hurts, but … you ain’t going to win them all. You going to lose some games, and it just happened to be this one. So, I don’t think we’re tripping.”
