Timberwolves overcome 76ers, leaning on Rudy Gobert’s energy until Anthony Edwards takes over

PHILADELPHIA – Occasionally in an NBA season, the postgame mood and public comments from a team, especially one with playoff expectations, can feel like the team lost even after a win.

This was the mood the Timberwolves found themselves in after a 114-109 victory Saturday over a 76ers team that was out five of its top six scorers — and doesn’t mind losing for purposes of securing a high draft pick.

But the Wolves had to gut out the win, and they needed an answered shot-clock-beating prayer from Anthony Edwards with 7.4 seconds remaining to secure the victory.

Like their win Thursday in Brooklyn, the Wolves got enough scoring from Edwards (37 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter) while Rudy Gobert again refused to let his team lose with 23 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks. That helped the Wolves survive a heater in the final minutes from Quentin Grimes (28 points, 17 in the fourth quarter), who brought Philadelphia way too close for comfort multiple times. The Wolves weren’t somber in the postgame locker room — a win is a win, especially in a tight playoff race — but they acknowledged they have to play better, and soon.

“What’s missing, I’m not gonna talk about it. I’m gonna talk to my teammates, and we’ll figure it out,” Edwards said. “Hopefully we’ll fix it by next game and when I do media again we’ll be able to say we found it.”

Mike Conley (eight points), coach Chris Finch and Gobert didn’t mind delving into the specifics, and they diagnosed some familiar problems the Wolves have battled throughout the season.

“We have too many times individually where we let a missed shot or a bad turnover that we do inflicting on ourselves carry over for multiple possessions,” Conley said. “We’ll miss a guy leaking in transition, stuff we’re not accustomed to doing. We play hard … but when we got too many guys’ minds in different spots, frustrated with themselves or frustrated with the way the game is going for them, you just see like our team just splinter a little bit as far as the connectivity we need to play with.”

The Wolves committed 15 turnovers. Naz Reid (nine points) had five of those, and Jaden McDaniels went 0-for-6 with two points. But the Wolves survived playing down to the level of their competition thanks to Gobert and Edwards. Edwards hit a number of buckets down the stretch to offset Grimes’ production while Gobert was dominant on the glass and converting his chances into points (10-for-11 shooting).

Finch said he made it a point to highlight Gobert’s performance to the rest of the team after Saturday’s game.

“We need more guys playing with that intentionality,” Finch said. “… It’s been who we’ve been all season. It’s disappointing, and it starts with surviving our own mistakes. We had a bunch of guys who didn’t play particularly well today, and the energy goes down around that. We need to have Ant and Julius [Randle] lead the way offensively. Our offense is sputtering, unfortunately.”

BOXSCORE: Wolves 114, 76ers 109

NBA standings

Finch referenced the slow starts the Wolves have had recently and the need to get out more in transition to ignite the team’s energy. Perhaps the Wolves’ frustration builds more when they make mistakes against a team they know they should beat easily than when that happens against a quality opponent.

“Sometimes that’s the way it feels,” Gobert said. “We have to get to the point when we just compete with ourselves, regardless of who we play. They’re NBA players, they’re really talented, and anybody can score 30 on a given night. It’s got to be about ourselves and not cheating ourselves.”

It is good for the Wolves this all happened after a win and that they’re sounding the alarm that the past couple of efforts aren’t good enough, especially with the postseason just four games away in a crowded Western Conference playoff race.

“We need all of our guys to see the positive in the things they’re doing,” Conley said. “When guys make an extra play on offense and we get a wide open three, whether it goes in or not, I think it does something good for us. … Rudy crashes the glass, gets offensive rebounds, keeps possessions alive. We get more of those plays, it lifts us, you know, as a team, and when we do that, I think it’s easier for guys to kind of get out of that slump.”