Timberwolves clear the air after Toronto debacle: ‘Name a perfect family. I have never seen one.’

BOSTON – Before media approached Julius Randle following Timberwolves practice Saturday, Randle shouted out an icebreaker, sensing the line of questioning that was to come.

“I didn’t pass him the … ball,” Randle said in a joking manner. “What else you got to ask?”

Randle was referencing the moment that has marked the current nadir of this 8-7 season. It was a sequence that came in the fourth quarter of their 110-105 loss in Toronto on Thursday, when Randle didn’t throw Rudy Gobert the ball in the post after Gobert had posted up Scottie Barnes. Gobert, upset Randle didn’t throw him the ball, took his time getting out of the lane and drew a three-second violation as a result. The next trip down the floor, Gobert committed a silly foul on Barnes, Anthony Edwards started yelling at Gobert and Toronto took control of a close game as the Wolves lost control of their emotions.

This prompted a frank discussion among the team after the game, and those discussions carried into the pre-practice talks Saturday.

“I feel like we had a great practice. We had a great couple discussions,” Randle said, laughing. “I feel like today we came out with an attention to detail, the right mindset, and I think we’re gonna come out and perform great [Sunday].”

Both Randle and Gobert addressed what happened in their interviews Saturday, with Gobert taking responsibility and apologizing for escalating his frustration. It’s not the first time that has happened with Gobert in his Wolves tenure. On the last day of the regular season in 2023, Gobert took a swing at Kyle Anderson during a timeout, and the team suspended him for its subsequent play-in game against the Lakers. Gobert and Anderson were fine moving forward.

”Like I told the guys, as someone who really is big on leading by example, my reaction was a bad example,” Gobert said. “I let my emotions, my frustration get the best of me and that’s not who I am. I was sorry for that. I know these guys know me, know who I am, they know everything I do is for my teammates, everything I do is to win, so when I have one of those moments, we know that it’s just a moment.”

For his part, Randle said there was no “beef” between him and Gobert. “Rudy’s been great. I’ve had no problem with Rudy,” Randle said. “He’s been great communicating. I feel like Rudy is a great teammate and he brings a lot to our team and we need Rudy. I’ve been to Rudy’s house, there is no beef or any animosity. It’s basketball. Things happen.

“Name a perfect family. I have never seen one. There’s always gonna be something. Things happen. You move forward with it. Me and Rudy are great. I’ve got no issue with him.”

Edwards, who didn’t speak to the media Saturday, played a big part in the discussion after Thursday’s game, with Randle saying Edwards isn’t afraid to “speak his mind.” But he has the weight to do that because he is a positive presence in so many other moments.

“He’s super unselfish and he lifts everybody up,” Randle said. “He really genuinely wants the best for everybody. You notice like after I hit the game-winning shot [against Phoenix], he was the first person to run up to me. When you lead with that type of pure heartedness, you have that right to be honest and call guys out, hold people accountable because you’re backing it up with your actions.”

Coach Chris Finch said the team needed to regain its “spirit,” and Saturday’s was a good start at doing that. He said he has noticed multiple players on the team, not just Gobert, letting their individual performances affect their overall attitude.

“I don’t think it’s a selfish thing in that regard,” Finch said. “… I think it’s more they’ve been a little disappointed and had a hard time hiding their emotions, and there’s a maturity and a toughness that comes with that.”

He then added: “Mistakes are going to be made, people are going to miss you, coverages are going to be blown, shots are not going to go in, decisions might be right, might be wrong, it’s the reaction to all that stuff that you can control and we have to be better at.”

Gobert was the most glaring example of that Thursday. He and Randle expressed confidence they will be able to move on from what happened, that this sort of thing pops up in the course of a long season. They’ll have a chance to move on from it Sunday against the defending champion Celtics.

“People think great teams are the teams where the sky is always blue, everything is pretty and everyone is happy all the time,” Gobert said. “No, great teams, they know each other, care about one another and when somebody makes a mistake, mistakes happen, but when somebody drifts out a little bit, we talk and we get back on track.”

2:30 p.m. Sunday, FanDuel Sports Network, iHeart app.

Wolves update: Mike Conley is listed as out for the second game in a row after also sitting out Thursday’s game because of a left great toe sprain. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has started in his place twice this season when he has sat. Naz Reid, who appeared to get hurt late in Thursday’s game against Toronto, was not listed on the injury report. The Wolves will be seeking their first victory in Boston since 2005. That road losing streak is topped only by their streak in Toronto, which extends to 2004.

Celtics update: Defending NBA champion Boston has made waves across the league this season for averaging 50.2 three-point attempts per game. The Celtics are hitting 37% of those and have the third-best offensive efficiency in the league. Jayson Tatum is averaging 29.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and a career high 6.1 assists per game. Derrick White is averaging a career-high 18.4 points per game while shooting 40% from three-point range.