MINNEAPOLIS -- Nothing good nor bad sustains itself for any significant duration of time for Minnesota.
Stretches of excellence and ineptitude have all been short-lived in this rollercoaster of a 2022-23 campaign. So it was only natural that, returning home off an impressive three-game winning streak featuring West Coast contests against quality competition, Minnesota would proceed to lay an egg at Target Center.
The Wolves were trounced 117-94 on national television Tuesday by the Philadelphia 76ers.
There is no shame in losing to Philadelphia (43-22) — the 76ers are a legitimate contender to win the Eastern Conference and, thus, the NBA title. Joel Embiid is once again a bona fide Most Valuable Player candidate.
But Philadelphia was sans James Harden on Tuesday, one night after the 76ers topped the Indiana Pacers in a track meet. Meanwhile, Minnesota hadn’t played since Saturday in Sacramento.
ADVERTISEMENT
So much was working in Minnesota’s favor that the Timberwolves actually entered the contest as the betting favorite. Yet Minnesota was beaten so thoroughly that Timberwolves coach Chris Finch emptied the bench with more than five minutes to play and the Wolves trailing by 24.
Minnesota (34-33) seemed to lack much in the way of juice Tuesday. At times, particularly early, Philadelphia did look like a team that played the night prior. Yet the Wolves seemed to match that energy, or lack thereof.
Eventually, Philadelphia’s stars started to cook. While Rudy Gobert kept Embiid out of the lane for much of the night, Embiid hit jumper after jumper. The big man scored 39 points in just 28 minutes while burying all four of his 3-point attempts. Tyrese Maxey was equally as impressive en route to his 27-point performance on 9-for-16 shooting.
Minnesota had no offense to counter those outputs. The Wolves shot just 40% from the floor and 31% from deep. Anthony Edwards finished with 32 points on the strength of five triples to go with seven rebounds. But no one else did anything of consequence. The Wolves’ other four starters combined to go 7 for 25 from the field.
Minnesota has seemingly re-defined itself as a defensive team in recent contests. But Tuesday was a reminder that this roster can still struggle to score at times. And you’re only going to be able to contain the game’s top offensive talents to a certain degree.
ADVERTISEMENT
______________________________________________________
This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
The Trust Project
