Star of the Game
As the Timberwolves are fighting for the sixth seed and avoiding a spot in the play-in, they lost their second straight game. This was not too unexpected, as Phoenix is the best team in the league right now, but to be up by 10 at half-time and slowly fall apart in the fourth quarter is pretty demoralizing. Leading the Wolves, Anthony Edwards had 19 points, but that deserves a big asterisk, because he missed multiple layups, and shot 3/8 from downtown.
Biggest Concern
Besides Edward’s cold shooting, both Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell seemed to be absent from this game. Towns had 15 points and Russell had six, together they were 0/8 on their 3-pointers. In a big game like this, Minnesota needs their star players to show up and do well. Especially considering this game was so close. Slightly better shooting from the big three, and Minnesota could have pulled off a win.
Number of the Night
8. Jarred Vanderbilt has such an intangible impact on the game. Though he scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds, his defensive presence was what kept this game close for the first three quarters. Normally, he is able to share that responsibility with Jaden McDaniels, one of the best defensive forward combos in the league, but McDaniels is still recovering from an ankle sprain, and may still miss another 4-6 weeks.
Next Game
The Timberwolves will play the Mavericks on Friday at 7:00 CST.
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