Timberwolves make it a game against Rockets, until their end-of-game decisions cost them

HOUSTON – After Friday’s 121-115 loss to the Rockets, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said he saw a theme in the game that he and fans have seen too often this season.

“Our issue is we got to win close games,” Finch said. “I don’t know who we are in clutch games. We got to be better. Our shot selection, decision-making in clutch games has got to improve on the offensive end. Defensively we’ve got to rebound and we’ve got to not foul.”

Finch didn’t point out anyone specifically when it came to the fourth-quarter offensive issues, but it was easy to decipher he was referring, for the most part, to Anthony Edwards. He was also referring to himself. Edwards finished with 37 points but was 13-for-32 from the field. He was 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter and came up empty on multiple possessions. after the Wolves tied the game 108-108 on a three-pointer from Nickeil Alexander-Walker (16 points) with 5 minutes, 30 seconds remaining.

But the Wolves didn’t score again for 2 minutes, 38 seconds and didn’t threaten in the closing possessions after a fadeaway from Alperen Sengun (24 points) put the Rockets ahead 115-110 with 1:11 to play. Jalen Green finished with 35 for Houston.

“A lot of it is [about Edwards], because they’re putting two on him.” Finch said of the late-game offense. “For the most part, he’s been making the right play, but you know he’s got to stay with it. We got to help too. I got to call a better game down the stretch.”

When Edwards passed out of double-teams, his teammates couldn’t convert enough open looks. Naz Reid battled foul trouble defending Alperen and finished with 22 points while Jaden McDaniels had 21 but was 1-for-7 from three-point range, including 0-for-3 in the fourth. The Wolves are now 15-20 in clutch games, defined by the NBA as games that are within five points with five minutes or less left. That’s a stat that’ll loom large for playoff positioning if they can’t fix it in the next 25 games.

Edwards said he had to shake off some rust and get his legs back under him after the All-Star break.

“I think I was a little fatigued today, first game after the break. I got a little fatigued in the fourth,” Edwards said. “But I got great looks. If I get those looks every time in the fourth, I feel like we gonna win.”

The Wolves once again had a different set of personnel available, as has been the case over the past month with both Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle out. Rudy Gobert joined them as he missed his second consecutive game because of back spasms, and Gobert was in obvious discomfort as he sat in the Wolves locker room before the game. That mishmash of lineups can make it difficult to establish continuity in close games.

“It might affect us as a team,” Edwards said of the mixing and matching of personnel. “I don’t think we played that many games with our whole team this year. It’s kinda hard. You got young guys coming in. Some people are not used to playing, so it’s kind of tough.”

About those young guys, it was an up-and-down night. Jaylen Clark played 20 minutes but didn’t attempt a shot, and when he would set screens for Edwards, the Rockets would just double-team Edwards on those screens. Rob Dillingham played eight minutes but was benched after Finch said he didn’t like his shot selection in the first half. During one timeout, Finch snapped at Dillingham as he was walking to the bench, and Dillingham didn’t play again. Terrence Shannon Jr. pitched in six points.

Mike Conley returned from a dislocated finger but was 0-for-2 and battled foul trouble early. The Rockets put up 48 points in the first quarter on 74% shooting, and the Wolves were playing catch-up for most of the night.

“That was crazy,” Edwards said. “… Of course it was Rudy. He’s the anchor. Any time we miss him, it’s going to hurt.”

That left Reid to tangle with Sengun in a battle that had both teams crying to the officials. The Wolves don’t like that Sengun gets away with an off-arm shove on a lot of possessions.

BOXSCORE: Rockets 121, Wolves 115

NBA standings

“Sengun shoves him with his off arm, there was a no-call each way. Then next time down, they call Naz for the same amount of contact going the other way,” Finch said. “I thought some of it was unfortunate, to be quite honest. I thought it was a tough interpretation of the contact between the two of them. Meanwhile, Sengun at the other end is allowed to launch himself at us any time we go near the paint. It was tough. We couldn’t afford Naz to be in that foul trouble tonight.”

Said Reid: “I think it was pretty tough. I don’t really think some of those things were fouls. I think they were marginal if anything. That’s just how they played the game. … It’s not like he’s not a good basketball player. I think it was just, those moments, try to dial it in a little bit more from a defensive standpoint.”

The Wolves could’ve used that mentality in the first quarter, and maybe they wouldn’t have found themselves in another close game, where the odds aren’t in their favor this season.

“I think we just got to reel it in, reel in ourselves,” Reid said. “These games are winnable, but we just got to buckle down and do all the right things.”