After a brief break for Thanksgiving, the Minnesota Timberwolves were back in action on Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Wolves entered the game having lost seven of their previous evening games, including their current four-game losing streak.

Before the game, Wolves coach Chris Finch spoke to the media about how far his team is from being a winning basketball team again.

“If you look at it that way, we are not a million miles away from where we want and need to be. We must definitely avoid getting ourselves into the holes we find ourselves in with the game phases themselves. But we do these great throwbacks. Give us the chance to win. We’d better finish these games. And you know, a team that’s really sick to the core can’t fight back. So you can take positive things from that.”

Fighting back from poor play early in the games was one of the only bright spots for the Wolves, but they looked to break the previous pattern of falling behind, coming back and coming up short at the end of the game with inconsistent play.

The Clippers were without two of their better players, Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell. They were replaced in the lineup by two names Wolves fans may know, former Timberwolf Kris Dunn and former Minnesota Golden Gophers star Amir Coffey.

The Wolves got off to a good start, taking an early lead by eight points, including three points from four of the Wolves’ five starters. The solid offense would be short-lived as the Wolves would go scoreless for nearly four minutes, allowing the Clippers to cut the Wolves’ lead to just one at the end of the first quarter.

After LA took a one-point lead early in the second quarter, Nickeil Alexander-Walker got the Wolves out of the dirt, scoring seven quick points and a nice assist to Rudy Gobert that put the Wolves up 11 points.

Nine turnovers by the Wolves in the first half would prevent them from building a larger lead, but at halftime the Wolves would lead 53-47.

The turnovers would continue into the second half as Minnesota would commit five turnovers in under three minutes, bringing the total to 14, two fewer than the season average of 15.7 per game.

With the Wolves down to a three-point lead, Edwards began to heat up by scoring three consecutive points to extend the Wolves’ lead to nine points.

The Wolves would decide three more times in the course of the third quarter, including remaining goalless in the last three and a half minutes. After trailing by as many as 11, the Clippers cut the Wolves’ lead to 72-68 after three quarters.

Nicolas Batum, often a thorn in Minnesota’s side, hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the fourth quarter, giving him four points for the game and tying the game at 80-80.

With the game’s offense struggling to find an effective shot, Donte DiVincenzo hit a long-range bomb to put the Wolves back in the lead.

The Wolves pushed the lead to as many as seven, but the Clippers, as they had done all game, fought right back and went on a 10-0 run, including a three-pointer from James Harden, to give them a 90-87 lead gave us the lead four minutes before the end.

Unlike many performances in the past, the Wolves didn’t collapse down the stretch and held the Clippers to just two points the rest of the game, taking the lead on a 5-0 run from Edwards.

With the Wolves ahead, a crazy sequence ensued in which the Clippers decided not to foul in order to win the ball back. The Wolves took advantage by grabbing two offensive rebounds to end the remainder of the period.

The Timberwolves narrowly secured a 93-92 win over the Clippers, ending their four-game losing streak.

Edwards led Minnesota with 21 points, four rebounds and three assists. Gobert, who played nearly 43 minutes, scored eight points, grabbed 12 rebounds and was dominant defensively. Harden scored 20 points for the Wolves and worked for all of those points. He finished 7-for-20 from the field, including three 3-pointers.

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Key insights

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Find a way to win

Entering the game, the Timberwolves had lost seven of their last nine games, including each of their last four games. Even though most of the game wasn’t pretty, getting a win, no matter the means, was the most important aspect for the struggling Wolves team.

In many of Wolves’ recent defeats, they have had leads late in games and been unable to get the game over the line with a win. Despite a staggering 22 turnovers, they managed to hold on tonight in a game that seemed to be on the verge of disaster.

Finch spoke after the game about getting back on the winning list after a recent losing streak.

“We needed a win in every way possible. We stepped up defensively throughout the night. We have to be, especially until we can figure out some things on offense.”

Edwards talked in the locker room about many of the rushing plays, especially from Naz Reid, that helped them win in a situation that has so often spelled defeat for the Timberwolves this season.

“These are competitions. We talked as a team about how we wanted to win and change the situation and get back to who we are defensively. These are things that we have to do over and over again, no matter how tiring it is, how stressful it is. As a group, I asked them after the game how much we wanted to win. If we want to win, we’re going to do this crap every game.”

The Wolves are still not playing at the level they could be. There are aspects of this game, both schematic and otherwise, that need to be worked out in a timely manner, including backup point guard and center minutes, which continue to be an issue.

However, for better or worse, professional sports are about results, and for one night at least, the Timberwolves got the result they needed: a win.

An avalanche of sales

The Timberwolves turned the ball over 22 times, including nine times in the third quarter, allowing the Clippers to stay in a game in which the Wolves outscored them for long stretches.

It wasn’t just the high number that stood out, but also the fact that all eight players in the Wolves’ rotation turned the ball over at least once, and every player except Naz Reid turned it over multiple times.

In the locker room after the game, NAW was asked what it would take to limit turnovers, which have been a problem all season.

“I think I’m getting a feeling. Patience. Tonight it was like we were trying to find people. I think that’s the main thing: to be a little more patient, to calm down, to take stock and maybe get the piece started sooner. I notice it a little late, things like that.”

Finch also talked about what is causing the turnover problems and how best to fix them.

“I think two things, you know, dribbling too much again. And then we get into a static, like five guys around the fence, and no one really gets us into the next basketball action. And that puts the defense exactly where it needs to be. And then when we drive off, you just read the passing lanes or go into the driveway and just drop things off there. So I need more structure.

The Clippers were only able to score 23 points from the Wolves’ turnovers, and Edwards addressed how they were able to limit the Clippers in transition.

“Come back, match up, talk. Get Rudy back to the paint, get him together, persuade Rudy, get him to the paint. He did a great job protecting the rim tonight. Transition is effort. We made the effort tonight.”

Going into the evening, the Wolves were 20th in limiting offensive turnovers, a stat that will only get worse after today’s game.

It’s difficult to pinpoint a reason for the high turnovers considering they’re team-wide issues, but it’s an easy win for the Wolves to quickly fix their offensive woes this season.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Rudy Gobert’s quiet defensive dominance

As is often the case with Gobert’s best games, his dominance cannot be measured in a simple box score. Gobert played almost 43 minutes in the game and held the entire game in check defensively.

Gobert made life particularly difficult for Harden when driving to the basket, as he limited him to just four points in the paint, which often opened up the rest of the court for Harden.

After the game, Gobert talked about himself and the Wolves, who gave Harden a hard time all night.

“I mean, it’s a team effort. He is a very smart player, very skilled. I had to make sure I mixed it up with him somehow because every time I did something he expected me to do the same thing the next time. So it’s always a kind of chess game with him. The most important thing is that my teammates usually have my back. And all the guys guarding him one-on-one did an incredible job getting him going, so just a great team effort.”

The four-time Defensive Player of the Year has had a rocky start to the season as he continues to adjust to playing with many of his new teammates, particularly his frontline teammate Julius Randle, who is a very different type of defender compared to Karl- Anthony Towns.

As the Wolves look to recapture at least some of what made them such a strong defensive force last season, it’s a great sign that Gobert is completely changing what opposing offenses can do near the basket.

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Next

The Timberwolves end their four-game homestand with a matchup against fellow Tinseltown team, the Los Angeles Lakers. The game begins at 7:00 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network North and NBA TV.

Following this game, the Wolves embark on a road trip to California, including another matchup with the Clippers at the new Intuit Dome. They close out the road trip with two games against the Golden State Warriors.

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Game highlights