Any way you look at it, Wolves struggle down the stretch

PHOENIX – Like the glass that's filled halfway, the Timberwolves' 118-110 loss at Phoenix on Saturday presented a fundamental question.

Did the Wolves allow a deciding 14-0 run because they didn't score a point for four minutes or because they couldn't defend the Suns a lick when it mattered most?

You probably can guess where Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau stands on the timeless half-full or half-empty question. But when it came to his team's second consecutive loss after a 7-3 season start, he chose the middle ground when deciding whether his team's offense or defense hurt more down Saturday's stretch.

"Both," he said.

He particularly lamented the offensive execution with four minutes left, when the Wolves had a 103-99 lead, the ball and a timeout with 14 seconds left on the shot clock. Karl-Anthony Towns settled for and missed a three-point shot with guard Jimmy Butler positioned favorably against Devin Booker nearer the basket.

"We were up four," Thibodeau said. "That was a big play. We just didn't execute there."

From there, the Wolves missed shots, took bad ones, were forced into a long, desperate shot and turned the ball over twice in 23 seconds. They didn't score for seven consecutive possessions.

"You can't give guys like that room," Thibodeau said, "and we did."

One day after he vowed to be more aggressive offensively, Butler blamed both himself and his team's defense for enabling the Suns to end a five-game losing streak.

"We didn't guard," Butler said. "It's hard to win in this league when you're constantly trying to outscore the other team. Yeah, we can score, but we'd make it a lot easier on ourselves if we decided to play defense. We have to stop giving up 100 or whatever we gave up the last couple games, pretty much all year. We've got to be better. I've got to be the one that sets that tone, man."

Butler spent much of Saturday's game trying to hold down Booker, arguably the NBA's most prolific young scorer. He did so without much success.

"That's on me," Butler said. "He whipped my tail tonight. I wasn't up on shots. He got to anywhere he wanted to go on the floor. We've got to be better on the defensive end, and it starts with me."

"We just didn't execute and finish," Towns said. "That's the way the game went and that's why we lost. That's just the way it goes sometimes. We didn't capitalize on our opportunities. We had the lead and we didn't capitalize and that's what happens."

A third-quarter lapse cost them Wednesday in Oakland, Calif. On Saturday, the Wolves allowed Phoenix not only that late 14-0 run but also a 10-0 burst earlier in the fourth quarter.