Wolves Bench Gets It Done - Beat Knicks 112-110

This game was a rollercoaster. I came as close to shedding a tear at the end of this game as I could. There were times I was thinking this team could make noise in the playoffs and times we will never make the playoffs again. Despite my cynical thinking, the Wolves right the ship in the 4th quarter and steal the victory to get back to .500.

First Half

Considering KAT had 11 points in the first 6 minutes of the game you would have thought he would end up with at least 30. He ends the game with 20, but had his most clutch bucket of the season with just under 30 seconds left in the game.

I loved the energy at the end of the first. I thought the Wolves did a great job moving the ball and getting a good rhythm. These plays are what drives this offense.

Something seemed off in the second quarter. D-Lo had 3 quick fouls and sat for the entire quarter. Pat Bev also was in foul trouble quickly. Thankfully, the bench came up HUGE tonight. I believe the Wolves would have been losing at halftime if Naz Reid didn't account for 9 straight Timeberwolves points. He was 6-6 from the line and canned a 3 pointer. Him picking up fouls helped out in the long run as Mitchell Robinson fouled out in the 4th.

Second Half

This is where is gets bad.... Wolves started so so so slow in the 3rd. The Knicks quickly cut the 10 point lead down to 3 multiple times. Evan Fournier had 13 points (someone fact check me here) in the 3rd quarter (he is someone who I have always wanted on the Wolves. He is always so reliable). Julius Randle also suddenly came alive, scoring 10 points and getting most of them at the foul line. Further pushing the Wolves into foul trouble.

He brought the arena alive with grown man basketball. He was bullying the Wolves in the blocks and the answer we had was to have McDaniels guard him? Randle ate him up for the most part. You could see Mcdaniels getting visibly frustrated and I am shocked there weren't any technicals called. J-Mac did manage to get one nice play on Randle, throwing a dunk down the lane on him.

I am not sure if I am sold on McDaniels anymore. I want to see him attack more. He was 0-5 form 3 tonight and put up an absolute clunker in crunch time where he was wide open.

Come the 4th quarter the Wolves came out aggressive and actually retook the lead. Then the Charlotte Hornets version of Kemba Walker showed up and striped three straight 3 pointers. Wolves managed to get some buckets on the other end from Jaylen Nowell to only to put the Knicks up 4. He ultimately would end up with 11 in the 4th. It was pretty much back and forth until the end of the game. Wolves would stay within 1 until KAT hits the massive and-1 I mentioned above.

Wolves did manage to let the Knicks have two shots at winning the game tonight. They gave up a huge offensive rebound at the end but Alec Burks shot was well off at the end of it. Wolves got out-rebounded 44-38.

Additional Thoughts

Jaylen Nowell is a bad, bad man. He has been awesome to see since taking a larger role on during the COVID outbreak. I hope the Wolves lock him up for good. He is awesome at creating his own shot while still being able to make that extra pass in the lane if needed.

With all the trade rumors going around, I couldn't help but notice I was in absolute awe of Mitchell Robinson. I am not the best at finding people to trade for, I admit that. But the Wolves need height. Vando has done everything right. But I think teams are realizing they can go big on the Wolves and win. Vando is absolutely the starter, but they need someone who can plug the paint. Mitchell Robinson is 7 feet with a 7'4" wingspan. Someone who can come in and plug the lane would be a big plus.

I am so tired of seeing the offense get stagnant. This is how the 3rd quarter was when New York was making their run. Iso's and step-back jumpers are so damn cool to watch, but that isn't what this team thrives at. This team is great when the ball is moving. They can beat anyone when the rock is shared. I hope Chris Finch finds a way to fix this. But man, when Ant is hitting step back 3's over someone, that is hard to beat. So I get it, ok 😂

Looking Ahead

No rest for the Wolves as they travel to play the Hawks on Wednesday before going home for a quick game against the KD-less Nets on Sunday. Boy this team will enjoy that rest