Wolves 107, Rockets 101: Unstoppable rockets meet immobile wolves

Wow.

I had one scathing recap planned for tonight. I really did. You were about to be subjected to reading sentences about fake unicorns, piss-filled basketballs, being C3 since the 93rd and many other little creative insults. However I have Stephen Silas, Rafael Stone, and the most important, John Wall, to thank you for saving my position here at Canis Hoopus.

As Kyle Theige pointed out, this game would be a battle between the two worst teams in the NBA and, man, he was up to the hype! What appeared to be an energetic offensive showcase The flea market in the first half quickly became, perhaps, the worst basketball ever played on planet Earth in the second half.

In the 3rd period, the “defense” of the Wolves turned into rocket fuel for the team that had lost 20 of the last 21 games. Minnesota got 19 points, courtesy of Houston, with 15 points out of 31 out of three points. Karl-Anthony Towns, who spent most of the first half complaining to the referees, somehow increased his weeping to 11 in the 3rd. He was frustrated and the rest of his teammates didn’t seem able to rescue him either. Towns’ team looked set to give up and lose 20 points to the NBA’s second worst team. I also looked like I was about to put my fist on the TV.

Then came the 4th time.

In the first 4 minutes, although the deficit never reached 20, it still didn’t look like the Wolves were going to fight. Then, at the 7:47 mark, the game was turned upside down. Anthony Edwards was replaced out of the game by Jaden “Big Mac”McDaniels and the Rockets never scored again.

Not even. This is not hyperbole. At 7:47 am, the Rockets were at 101 points. When the clock struck 0:00, they were still at 101 points. Meanwhile, the Wolves went on a 20-0 run to end the game. How did this happen? John Wall had and missed 6 misses in the team’s last 11 field goal attempts, contributing 2 of the 3 teams to turnovers at that time.

I really feel that, on the side of the Wolves, the credit really goes to 3 key players: KAT, Jaden McDaniels and … Juancho Hernangomez. That’s right. The only player Washington is looking for in a Bradley Beal deal (%). KAT and Juancho combined 20 points in the 4th quarter, while Big Mac was locking things up defensively. It was a sight to behold. According to Dave Benz, the Wolves were unofficially 32-770 (3.99%) in games in which they lost by 10 points in the 4th period.

There were some hilarious moves to end the game I want to mention. After John Wall missed his 6th consecutive chance in the final minute of the game, McDaniels found himself falling on the court in a quick 1 to 1 opportunity against Sterling Brown. As soon as he tried to get around Brown, he fell to the ground and looked at the referee for a foul. However, during that chaos, Coach Finch had, in an intelligent way (and playfully) asked for a timeout in the middle of the break to save Jaden from himself. Why was it a good decision? The Wolves moved up 2 with 34.7 seconds remaining in the game and 20 seconds on the kick timer.

In the ensuing possession, KAT found Ricky Rubio who absolutely smoked a Wide typical open layout. I mean, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being Ricky Rubio’s worst layup he’s ever missed, it was probably 9.5. Either way, it gave the Rockets a transition opportunity to tie the game. Wall, who should I just remind you of missed 6 shots in a row, fumble the ball away and kick it out of bounds.

Game: Wolves.

Lottery odds: Uh oh …

Highlights of the full game:

Game notes

• Before the 4th quarter, the only three players who really seemed to have a winning impact on the game were Jaylen Nowell (15/5/5 and 3 robberies), Naz Reid (2/16/2 and 2 thefts), and Jaden McDaniels (14/4 and 2 blocks, 100% FG). What will not be lost this season are the jewels that Gersson Rosas continues to unearth out of nowhere.

• Today was finally the return of Jordan McLaughlin. Unfortunately, although understandably, it looked extremely rusty outside. He finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 turns, 1 overhead ball and 20% shooting. Welcome back!
• Jake Layman and Jarrett Culver they were both out of rotation today. I don’t know why, but they didn’t leave the bank today. Meanwhile, Malik Beasley is due to return to court tomorrow!

• It was a little relative sad to see Anthony Edwards completely unable to walk again. He looked shy attacking the painting and was getting a bad shot after a bad shot. He was properly placed on the bench at the end of the game, although Finch mentioned that he was just doing what was working. After the final bell rang, I saw Ant go to the tunnel, looking down, while Juancho gave him some advice. I didn’t interpret this as he was upset about winning or being eliminated, but more upset about his own performance once again. The 19-year-old will recover.

• The MEP goes to the ex-Pizza Guy, Ben McLemore. He hit 6 out of 6 points out of three to start the game and looked like Steph Curry out there. It ended on 7/14 and only 21 points.
• I’m not casual and I know how good Christian Wood it was before today’s game. I even remember conversations about him here at Canis Hoopus when he wasn’t written in 2015. However, he still managed to surprise me with his performance tonight. KAT and Wood were eye-to-eye at the start of the game, but it didn’t take long for Wood to appear completely dominant over him in the third. KAT is still amazing and was able to regain control on 4th, although Wood ended up with a formidable 24 points in 16 kicks. I’m sorry that he has to play John Wall.
• Finally, I had the opportunity to ask KAT about the increase in violence against the AAPI community. He had a sincere and thoughtful response, as always. It is a timely reminder that we really have a good player on our team, no matter what happens on the court. I am very proud to cover this young man.