Thibodeau shows off new look to Wolves rotation

Tom Thibodeau adjusted his rotation Thursday for the first time since he went essentially with a three-man bench these past two weeks.

He called upon Marcus Georges-Hunt rather than Shabazz Muhammad in the second quarter. Georges-Hunt played 17 minutes and scored five points, including a three-pointer made just before halftime.

On Thursday morning, Thibodeau was asked again about playing his starters extended minutes. In the past five games before Thursday's, Jimmy Butler led the league in minutes played (41.7), and Karl-Anthony Towns was third (40).

"You look at all teams,'' he said. "If you look at the wings, the wings usually play [a lot]. Look at LeBron [James] or [James] Harden, all those guys. They're going to play.''

One of several point guards the Wolves considered signing last summer, Kings veteran George Hill started at shooting guard Thursday.

The Wolves also considered free agents Kyle Lowry, Jrue Holiday and Derrick Rose, among others, before they signed Jeff Teague to a three-year contract.

"We thought it was a great group of point guards," Thibodeau said. "We were talking to all of them. You have to see if they can fit what you're trying to do … When we got traction with one of them, that's what we did. We liked him [Hill] a lot because of the shooting and defensive component to him."

"I have no tickets left; I'm empty," he said, reaching into his pockets before saying he had 22 or so family and friends attending. "The first couple of times here it was 40 or 45, so it thins out. It's that time of year, too: Christmas parties and office parties and stuff."

• Wolves reserve forward Nemanja Bjelica missed his 11th consecutive game because of left mid-foot sprain with no change to his status.

• Timberwolves rookie center Justin Patton scored 13 points off the bench on 6-for-8 shooting from the field Wednesday in his second game with the G League's Iowa Wolves. He also had two rebounds, two assists, two steals and two turnovers in 16 ½ minutes and was second on his team in plus-minus with a plus-22.