Timberwolves lose 117-106 to Pelicans and are on a skid for first time this season

Three months and 33 games into their 35th regular season, the Timberwolves finally became the last NBA team to lose consecutive games.

Their 117-106 loss to New Orleans on Wednesday night at Target Center followed Monday's 112-106 loss at New York in a New Year's Day matinée.

Call it their first tough spot after the Wolves followed each of their first eight losses by winning the next game. They built a best in the Western Conference doing that until these two losses.

This time, they trailed by any many as 24 points in the third quarter and trailed by double digits the entire fourth quarter.

They were outdone by Pelicans star Zion Williamson's bruising work around the rim and New Orleans' 32-22 second quarter and 33-25 third quarter.

"There's going to be lots of waves of adversity," Wolves coach Chris Finch after his team lost for only the second time in 16 games at home this season. "There's adversity in the game. There's adversity in the season. This is just another one and we've got to fix it. We haven't played with a lot of pop and purpose since Sacramento. We just haven't been very sharp."

That Sacramento game, a 110-98 victory, came six games ago, and two days before Christmas.

On Wednesday, the Wolves finished their season series with New Orleans by losing the final two games after they won the first two — Williamson had missed those first two meetings.

Finch tried to counter Williamson's strength and skill by defending him with smaller Anthony Edwards to start and later Kyle Anderson. Williamson finished with 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting, along with four rebounds and six assists.

"It felt good," Edwards said of the assignment. "I mean, he's a hell of a player. Touch is crazy around the rim. Shooting is strong, as we all know. But he played great tonight. He dominated the game from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. They came in and kicked us tonight."

The Wolves defense is rated first in the NBA, but Finch attributed his team's lack of it for Wednesday's outcome.

"First of all, not a lot of teeth defensively," Finch said. "They kind of went where they wanted with the ball, which has been a big point of emphasis for us. They were just driving around in the middle of the floor. We talked about being more physical, taking away [Williamson's] runway, meeting him at the rim with multiple bodies and we were super reluctant to do that. From there, we just got soft in the middle."

Edwards scored 35 points, but he also had six turnovers along with five assists.

"It comes with trying to find the open player," Edwards said. "Sometimes I'm throwing out of a double team, but that's no excuse. I've got to be better about turning the ball over."

This was also the first time this season the Wolves played the Pelicans with both Williamson and star guard C.J. McCollum on the court. New Orleans is 6-0 this season when Williamson, McCollum (24 points) and Brandon Ingram (19) each had at least six assists in the same game. They came within one more McCollum assist of making it 7-0 Wednesday.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points but shot 8-for-19 from the floor. Jaden McDaniels, with 11 points, was the Wolves' only other double-digit scorer besides Edwards and Towns.

The Pelicans won their fourth game in a row and for the ninth time in 12 games. The Wolves played their 12th consecutive game against a team with a winning record, falling to 7-5 in those games.

That's indicative of how well the Wolves have played this season, even if they didn't play as well in December into January as they did in November. "This has been coming for a while," Finch said.

The Wolves finished their season series with the Pelicans six weeks before the All-Star break. "I think it's good to play a team four times this early," Pelicans coach Willie Green said before Wednesday's game. "It's an opportunity to get familiar with their group and how they play. They're a really good team."