Tuesday night at Target Center, on the back end of back-to-back games, the Timberwolves did much of what they did, successfully, the night before:
They hustled, hard, on defense. They moved without the ball and moved the ball.
Over and over again they got good looks, open shots. They just didn't hit enough of them in a 96-88 loss to the New York Knicks.
Really, it's as simple as that.
"It was an off night," Wolves coach Chris Finch said after his team scored just 88 points, The team shot 40% overall, but made just seven of 38 three-pointers. "We got all the great looks we absolutely wanted. I didn't think it was anything great about their defense. … So of those 38 shots, I'd say 30 of them were high-quality. By our best shooters."
But so many just didn't go. And that's why this gritty team, still without four starters because of the league's health and safety protocols or the conditioning needed after leaving then, was able to come back time and again against the Knicks (16-18), but just not get over the hump.
Jaden McDaniels was the Wolves' best player. He made seven of 11 shots, scored 18 points with six rebounds, and held Knicks forward Julius Randle to 13 points on 5-for-20 shooting. McDaniels also blocked five shots.
Malik Beasley scored 20 but made just eight of 23 shots, including four of 16 threes.