Today marked an important day in the history of the Timberwolves. I know what you’re thinking and no, it wasn’t Ricky Rubio’s return to Utah. It was the return of our favorite UndraftedFreeAgent, Jordan McLaughlin, to the active squad. That reason is why Utah Jazz allowed 1,500 people in the seats at Vivint Arena (They were actually in the bottom bowl) Spoiler alert: JMac would remain in normal clothes throughout the game.
Instead, the live crowd was treated to a showcase by two Wolf guards. D’Angelo Russell, fresh with negative results in the COVID-19 test, was back in the starting lineup and Mr. Ice-In-His-Veins fired Icebolts into the hearts of the Jazz defense, punching 7 of the first 9 points for the Timberwolves . The Wolves were still behind and, similar to the previous game, it looked like it would be a long night for the Wolves when Rudy Gobert opened the game with 2 open and undisputed dunks.
However, still in the game 1 timeline, once Anthony Edwards (Known as Goose Moving Forward, S / O jakesgraphs) checked in to the game, he was a rocket. He would score 9 points by hitting three contested points with confidence and making his way to the track as if the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year was not there. Goose also competed in defense, which is development, and helped the Wolves to build a 4-point lead towards the second period.
Unfortunately for me, the 2nd quarter was filled with an internet connection that came and went (You would think that in 2020, where we are 100% virtual, that would not be a problem) However, I managed to catch enough to see the wolves hitting trees. It seemed like every time my WiFi was reconnected, d-carrying another made 3. The 11/20 kick beyond the hoop together, with 17 points scored in 12 Jazz turns, helped Minnesota build a 15 point lead going into the break.
The highlight of the quarter was certainly a fastbreak led by Goose, where he made a beautiful jump pass around a defender for Russell. * chef’s kiss*
Just as there were some howls (3s and ants), there were growls (S / O Jake Paynting) The Wolves’ guards were completely inept at dealing with Utah’s ball screens when Jazz went wide open 3s or were encouraged to sleepwalk on the track. The repercussion was also horrible, as the wolves were being constantly beaten while Jake Layman (0) and Juancho Hernangomez (1) continued to offer no resistance. The loudest grunt of the quarter was when Naz Reid had an awkward fall on the court, falling in the left arm / shoulder area. He was curled on the floor, writhing in pain noisily as Gregg Farnam escorted him to the locker room. Fortunately, Hollywood Naz would end well. From about 800 miles away and via the Internet, I would speculate that it was a shoulder that appeared and needed to be put back (SMUT). Either way, it was a scary reminder of how quickly things could potentially go wrong with an injury.
By the way, Naz Reid is apparently all right, since he’s back now.
– Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) December 27, 2020
The second half would open with a crucial move. After being sent to the bank with 3 fouls, Utah decided to run a high post iso for Gobert on Towns (???). While the French ventured deeper into painting, Towns perfectly anticipated a countermovement and scored a foul. It would be the 4th missing of one of these kids. The result? Rudy Gobert went to the bank. This visibly changed the pace of the game, but perhaps not as you expected. The wolves, understandably, would begin to attack the ledge more as evidenced by this post from Goose in Conley. Seriously. Goose was the “older brother” of a veterinarian who was 14 years older.
On the other hand, without Gobert obstructing the track, Conley and Donovan Mitchell wandered through the painting somehow even more easily than in the first half. They would challenge the Wolves defense with a 10-2 run to end the third period, cutting the 17 point lead to just 9 going into the fourth period.
The final period would be wild.
Jazz, who preferred life in attack without Gobert on the ground, continued to strike the Wolves in the painting. Mitchell channeled his pre-2020 James Harden by blowing on any defender in his path. Believe in the defense of Jazz, as wolves would have trouble finding a rhythm in attack. There would be some highlights like this reverse by Tricky Rubio, but he still looked extremely rusty, marked by unusual wrong decisions.
Just as it seemed that Jordan Clarkson and Mitchell were going to end the dismantling of the Wolves’ leadership with a flurry of 3s, another big move interrupted their momentum. After a missed 3-point attempt by Towns, Okogie ended up with the ball in his hands and took the O-Train to the edge, breaking the orange ball into the nylon net with a primitive scream, forcing Jazz to do nothing but call a time limit to be embarrassed.
However, the game’s scariest moment occurred. Remember how I mentioned how things can change quickly with an injury? Well, Towns tried to end Gobert, with whom he has an unspoken feud from across the NBA, in an attempt to bury. He would lose the ball on the way up and fall with the full force of his left wrist. You know, the one he just had surgery on. Like Naz, he curled up on the court while holding his wrist, feeling clear pain. The wolves would have to ask for a time limit to help him straight to the locker room.
Ache.
Understandably, the Wolves’ confidence in coming out with a victory faltered. Reid would fill Towns admirably while Russell would sink a flood of mid-rangers (Wiggins Alert!) to keep them afloat. Slowly but surely, Jazz would get closer and closer, reducing the lead to 4 points after a pair of free throws by Mike Conley Jr. However, as my main man Gandalf once said, “Look at my arrival in critical time with 57.7 seconds on the clock, look at the scorers table”
Cities returning to the game, but Mitchell is heating up
– Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) December 27, 2020
Russell, who scored 6 points while Towns was away, would lose a floater. The cities would sell themselves for the offensive rebound in that attempt, but would lose the star fruit completely. He reached out to deflect the ball out of bounds with his injured left wrist, but in a repetition, it looked like the ball might have escaped Gobert’s hand after Towns touched it. The call on the floor was Wolves ball. The referees conferred and reversed the call for the Jazz Ball. Then they went to review and ONCE overruled the new call on the floor, returning to the Baile dos Lobos. The result?
A strong Malik Beasley took the lead back to 6 with 33.7 remaining.
There would still be some late-game Jazz antics to try to steal the game. With 4.2 seconds remaining just 3 after Russell split a pair of free throws, Jazz would have a final chance to send the game into overtime. * In the voice of Morpheus * “What if I said the wolves would win with the defense?”
Aaaaand that would work. The wolves steal one on the road against a legitimate playoff team in the west. It is hard not to be excited about this victory. There were arguably more positive conclusions than irritating questions. Anyway, the road to 72-0 seems clear!
Game notes:
- How I went through all that recap without mentioning Jarrett Culver is beyond my comprehension. He was up against a solid +9 and looked totally right. Sure, he blocked a free throw (1/2 in the game), but this man was 3/3 from the beyond. THIS MAN IS SHOOTING 75% 3P AND 83% FT !!!
- This whole Jake Layman / Juancho Hernangomez thing is not going to work. 2 games is too early to call you? I think not. It was evident today that his presence was not felt at all. In the 2nd half, Layman played less than 3 minutes, while Hernangomez never saw a single minute. Our repercussion problems can be directly related to them.
- Dude … Ant Man, Goose, Future MVP, whatever name you want to call it, is LEGIT. It was totally realistic that he deserved the final minutes of this game. This was his best offensive (statistical) game of this young career, scoring 18 points in 12 shots (2/3 of 3). He plays a solid defense with great effort. At the pace he is going, he will lose a 50 point game in the middle of the season.
- I want to shout out Malik Beasley’s presence on the court. He is visibly breaking the glass hard (6 tonight) and plays with an intensity that is only rivaled by Josh Okogie on this team. It is very necessary and a welcome view. He played a 39-minute time-high.
- Rubio got the assist number 3,000 in a Timberwolves uniform on Beasley’s final tray. He’s now after Kevin Garnett for 1216 cents.
- The game ball must go to Karl-Anthony’s cities once again. He posted a pedestrian line 12/16/3/1/4 (Ha), but really played a solid line defense considering the turnstile that was the backcourt. He also showed a lot of leadership in putting his health at risk to get us to the finish line. If it weren’t for him coming back (I say it again) a recently repaired left wrist and making a game by changing the game with it, I doubt we would have won. So so so so so much respect.
- Spider-Man was defeated by his Avenger teammate, Ant-Man. Excuse. I’m not a fan of the MCU, but I have to say that. I am much more head of the SDA. Not so much Matrix too.