In a season that was all, again, about development, Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell was asked before Sunday's matinee with Dallas at Target Center whether the team had won the number of games he hoped it would when the season started.
His answer: A qualified yes.
And that was still his stance after his team struggled offensively in an 88-87 loss.
"Well, you look at what the experts say, and they had us winning what, 17 to 25 games?'' Mitchell said. "So you look where we are right now. … I'm not a gambler, I don't follow that stuff. But every time those people in Vegas put a number of wins on a team, 85 percent of the time they're right. And that's scary. I know it's all math, and I wasn't the greatest in math, but it's scary how good they are.''
The Wolves were 25-52 after Sunday's loss.
Still, Mitchell cited the development of Zach LaVine, rookie Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to state his case for a relatively successful season. Towns came an assist away from a triple-double Sunday while Wiggins scored 30 points.
"I remember a guy, he called me at the beginning of the season and he was talking about Zach," Mitchell said. "He said, 'He's just an athlete.' And now the same guy is calling me now and saying, 'Oh, my God, I didn't know he could play.' "
Wiggins, Mitchell noted, has upped his scoring average and shooting percentage while playing slightly fewer minutes in his second season. "If he gets that [three-point] percentage up to 35, 36 percent, think of how much better that will make him when you have to defend him.''
Towns, he said, has flourished. Thanks in part, Mitchell said, thanks in part to the decision to put him in the high post and let him play in space.
So, you look at all the things we've done this year, with the season we've had," Mitchell said. "You always want to win more. But I'm very pleased with the effort, the focus. Our guys are starting to mature. We're not there yet, but they're turning into pros. ...I'm proud from the standpoint that we've maxed out and got a chance to surpass the number of wins the experts said.''
Rubio gets 'bumped'
Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio left Sunday's loss in the fourth quarter after taking an elbow to the nose as Mavericks guard Devin Harris drove to the basket.
Rubio didn't speak with the media postgame, but the team diagnosed him with a "bumped nose," and Mitchell said Rubio is "OK."
Rubio had nine points and five assists Sunday and extended his career-best streak of games with a 3-pointer to 12.
A slam dunk
LaVine's Monday will begin at the Metro Deaf School in St. Paul, where a new kitchen at the school – one LaVine helped finance – will be unveiled.
LaVine donated $10,000 from his winnings from winning the Slam Dunk Competition over All Star weekend to the school to help build the kitchen. LaVine has developed a relationship with the school and its students over the course of the season; he spent time with the students and hosted a holiday party for the school in December.
His interest stems from high school, when he took American Sign Language. "I just wanted to give back," LaVine said. "And I wanted to give to a different type of charity.''
LaVine has made several trips to the school, along the way sharpening his ASL skills.
Towns' big day
Karl-Anthony Towns filled up the stat sheet Sunday, and his rebounding and passing performance led to more than just career highs.
Towns finished with 11 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists. One more assist would have given him his first NBA triple-double.
"I've just become more accustomed to the offense, knowing people's tendencies, knowing where they're going to be and where they like to shoot," Towns said.
Towns became only the second player in Timberwolves history to have 13 rebounds and six assists in a half after he posted those numbers in the first half of Sunday's 88-78 loss to the Mavericks. Kevin Garnett had 13 rebounds and seven assists in one half against the Kings in 2001.
The last time any NBA player matched Town's first half was exactly one year ago, when Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins had 14 rebounds and eight assists in the second half against the Pelicans.
Towns' double-double was his 12th straight. He also added three blocks, needing only two more to pass Garnett for the franchise's rookie record of 131.
His 21 rebounds Sunday tied Gorgui Dieng for the Wolves' rookie record, and his 18 defensive rebounds set the franchise's rookie record.
Nowitzki an example
Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell has preached patience all season.
His team has of course drawn comparisons to the early days of the Thunder's struggles in Oklahoma City, when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were just emerging in the league — a notion Mitchell reiterated Sunday.
But Mitchell also used his own playing experience against Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki as an example of what can happen with patience and development.
"His first three years in the league, we used to beg to guard Dirk," Mitchell said. "Think about what I'm saying. Beg the coach, 'Coach, let me get him.' Because he wasn't going to out-quick you, he hadn't developed that fadeaway jump shot, he didn't have a base, he didn't know how to get himself in a position to post up … He couldn't hold his ground. We used to beg."
Nowitzki indeed went from an awkward but talented German transplant to an NBA MVP.
The Timberwolves haven't made the playoffs since 2004, but Mitchell is again asking for patience as his team develops and he attempts to prove he is the right man for the job.
"I know everybody wants a winner," Mitchell said. "Everybody's starving for one. But you can't blame these guys for what has happened for the past 12 years. They wasn't here. All we can do is build on what we've started and try to get them to that point."
Etc.
• Ricky Rubio hit a three-pointer for a career-record 12th straight game. Rubio was hit in the nose and left the game with 3:08 left, but was OK after the game.
• Wiggins 30-point game was his second in four games and his ninth this season.
• Former Wolf J.J. Barea scored 21 points to lead Dallas, and the Mavericks are 6-2 this season when Barea scores 20-plus.
