LOS ANGELES - In the Timberwolves’ first game without Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards went nuclear in scoring 44 points to lead the Wolves to a win.
In push for the top seed, Timberwolves need players to get season or career highs
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley both had season highs Tuesday against the Clippers. The Timberwolves will likely need similar performances if they hope to be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 13, 2024 at 9:04PM
The next two games, both losses, Naz Reid picked up the scoring slack with a career-high 34 and 25 points, respectively.
But on Tuesday, Reid was in foul trouble in the first half, and the Wolves needed to find offense from somewhere else on the roster if they were going to erase a 22-point deficit and beat the Clippers.
They found it in Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley.
Alexander-Walker, who scored a season-high 28 points in a 118-100 victory, has been one of the most consistent Wolves all season thanks to his effort on the defensive end. Now, Alexander-Walker’s shot has rarely looked better.
“It was just . . . being in the moment,” he said. “I think it was very peaceful just enjoying being out there and just making reads. I think when we got down, I was more focusing on trying to play to win. Bring a spark, bring energy, play hard.”
Over his last 14 games -- dating to the last time the Wolves beat the Clippers on Feb. 12 -- Alexander-Walker has shot a blistering 47% from three-point range.
“Nickeil has been awesome,” Conley said. “The last month or so he’s been playing lights out and he’s found a great role with our team and he knows when to be aggressive, [and] he knows how to stay within himself for what we want for him and for our team. We just keep building with him because he’s got a lot of room to just keep getting better and better.”
Conley had a bounce-back game himself two nights after he said he felt like he was running “in the mud” of late. His 23 points were also a season high as he shot 9-for-15, including 5-for-8 from three-point range. His only disappointment was having his foot on the three-point line on two of his makes.
“I got to work on that,” Conley said with a smile. “Honestly, I’ve done that three straight games where I hit a three that was a two. I felt good, man. Coach [Chris Finch] just told me after the game, he needs me to be aggressive.”
In his pre-game comments, Finch said the Wolves needed a little more from Conley, who broke out of his slump at the right time.
Edwards again stole the show with 37 points on Tuesday, but he’s going to need help over the next few weeks as the Wolves push for a high seed. Teammates are going to have to knock down open looks. On Tuesday, Alexander-Walker and Conley made up for Reid only scoring six points and Jaden McDaniels not scoring on 0-for-8 shooting from the field.
The Wolves have now played four games without Towns, and if they are going to get by this stretch and still make a push for the top seed in the West, it might require players to get season highs or career highs every once in a while. It’s no coincidence players like Alexander-Walker, Conley and Reid have hit those benchmarks in the last few games.
“We have a very deep team and that depth helps you in a lot of ways,” Finch said. “It can help you when you have injuries or foul trouble. It also needs to help you in spreading the production. You’re never going to replace KAT’s skill and on-demand scoring, but the ball is really moving right now. We’re getting a lot of stuff in transition. We’re driving it multiple times.
“They’re putting two or three guys on Anthony at time
s, he’s making the right play and that’s unlocking a lot of great offense for his teammates.”
That seems to be the formula. Not everyone needs to be on every night, but one or two players who normally don’t score a lot might have to if the Wolves want to win.
The Wolves fell apart in the fourth quarter and have not won in Toronto in two decades.
