LOS ANGELES – Love him or hate him, Basketball Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley is a man of many strong opinions.
He had one during Thursday night's coverage of the Timberwolves' comeback 104-101 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles, and he won't get an argument from many Wolves fans:
Tyus Jones needs to play more.
"I appreciate that, Charles," Jones said after Thursday's game. "Just trying to do everything I can."
He hasn't been called upon often this season, but Jones has delivered when asked. He did so again Thursday after starting point guard Ricky Rubio left the game at halftime because his hip tightened up. Afterward, Rubio said the issue had bothered him recently and it worsened in the first half but said, "It's not a big deal."
As Jones did in a victory at Phoenix in November and another over Dallas earlier this month, he played a pivotal part with the game in doubt. Before Thursday, he had played nine minutes total in the past four games, and that was all in one game.
This time, Jones played the entire fourth quarter against a Clippers team that played without All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. He teamed with rookie and fellow point guard Kris Dunn for the game's final six minutes when both teams downsized to smaller lineups.
This time, he found a rhythm and a chemistry playing pick-and-rolls with Karl-Anthony Towns. Jones finished with four points and four assists in 12-plus minutes. Towns, meanwhile, had 37 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. He scored 27 points in the second half, with fifteen of his points coming in the fourth quarter — including nine Wolves points in a row down the stretch.