Tuesday night at Target Center, on the back end of back-to-back games, the Timberwolves did much of what they did, successfully, the night before:
Effort was made, shots were not in Timberwolves' 96-88 loss to Knicks
Wolves couldn't replicate the same successful results in the second game of a home back-to-back.
December 29, 2021 at 6:01AM
They hustled, hard, on defense. They moved without the ball and moved the ball.
Over and over again they got good looks, open shots. They just didn't hit enough of them in a 96-88 loss to the New York Knicks.
Really, it's as simple as that.
"It was an off night," Wolves coach Chris Finch said after his team scored just 88 points, The team shot 40% overall, but made just seven of 38 three-pointers. "We got all the great looks we absolutely wanted. I didn't think it was anything great about their defense. … So of those 38 shots, I'd say 30 of them were high-quality. By our best shooters."
But so many just didn't go. And that's why this gritty team, still without four starters because of the league's health and safety protocols or the conditioning needed after leaving then, was able to come back time and again against the Knicks (16-18), but just not get over the hump.
Jaden McDaniels was the Wolves' best player. He made seven of 11 shots, scored 18 points with six rebounds, and held Knicks forward Julius Randle to 13 points on 5-for-20 shooting. McDaniels also blocked five shots.
Malik Beasley scored 20 but made just eight of 23 shots, including four of 16 threes.
"I'll say when you lose any game it's frustrating just knowing we could've done things," McDaniels said.
All the grit was still there.
The Wolves responded to a 20-4 Knicks run from late in the first quarter into the second, one that gave New York a 17-point lead, with a 23-5 run of their own — with Beasley scoring 11 — that gave the Wolves a brief third-period lead.
Down 13 early in the fourth quarter, the Wolves closed within four twice.
But, ultimately, they couldn't catch up.
Jake Layman's alley-oop layup with 6:10 left cut the Knicks' lead to 83-79, but R.J. Barrett answered. With 5:07 left, Patrick Beverley hit a cutting Greg Monroe for a layup. The Wolves got a stop, but Beasley missed a wide open three at the other end. Then Barrett hit a three of his own and the Knicks, led by former Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau, were back up seven.
"We got down, we came back," Finch said. "Got down, came back. We just couldn't get the bucket or the stop or the call or the 50-50 ball or 50-50 call. It just didn't go our way down the stretch, and we needed it. We got good looks, too."
New York center Mitchell Robinson had 14 points and 18 rebounds. Randle scored 13 points with 15 boards. In all five Knicks players scored between 10 and 14 points. The biggest stat: New York hit 16 of 40 threes.
"On the back-to-back, I liked the composure we kept," said Beverley, who showed the affects of having recently exited the league's health and safety protocols. Beverley missed all eight of his shots.
"We didn't let go of the rope," Beverley said. "We kept fighting. You give us those kind of shots every game, I think we'll put ourselves in a position to be successful. Obviously, they didn't fall tonight. I guess you have to credit the Knicks."
Slowly, the Wolves should return to health. Beverley came back Tuesday, as did Naz Reid. Anthony Edwards and Taurean Prince should be available Friday at Utah. But one thing the Wolves have showed even shorthanded is a strong work ethic.
"That's how we are," McDaniels said. "It's our competitive nature. One through 15, whoever gets in, guys just come in and compete."
The players communicated through a group text chain to pull themselves out of a four-game losing streak. But the thread is used for other ways to bond and build camaraderie.
