Timberwolves topple Wizards 118-107, move past bad loss

WASHINGTON – Wednesday gave the Timberwolves a chance for a redo following an embarrassing loss to the Hornets on Monday. They were again playing one of the worst teams in the NBA, this time the Wizards, and were without floor general and adult in the room, point guard Mike Conley, who was out because of an illness.

A night like Wednesday would again test their maturity, and they did just enough to pass in a 118-107 victory over the Wizards.

The Wolves trailed 59-57 at halftime on 36% shooting before getting shots to fall and engaging their defense in the second half. Karl-Anthony Towns led them through the third quarter with 15 of his 27 points while Anthony Edwards had 38 points, 13 of those at the free-throw line. Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 16 rebounds, seven of them offensive.

After Monday’s five-alarm fire of a loss, the Wolves were able to move past it.

“We got cussed out about it,” Edwards said. “But eventually you got to flush it. It was a bad loss and you don’t want to think about it.”

On the subject of the Wolves getting “cussed” out — before Wednesday’s game, coach Chris Finch revisited why he made the strong statements he did after Monday’s game when he called the Wolves’ performance “disgusting,” among other adjectives.

For 48 hours, social media and national NBA pundits took their shots at the Wolves and wondered if Finch’s comments were pointed at anyone directly. He clarified that was not the case, and instead was addressing the Wolves’ performance as a team.

“I always try to give you an honest assessment of where we are,” Finch said. “I never single out guys or throw players under the bus. It’s unacceptable for me in my mind to do that. But it doesn’t mean that we’re going to run from or flower up some sort of performance that was just not up to the standard that we have. To me, I felt that was the case. I’ve said the same thing to players so saying it to the media wasn’t, in my mind, any more egregious or damaging to their mindset than it was saying it directly to them.”

Finch ended up pleased with the Wolves’ effort Wednesday, even if he wasn’t happy at the start. He called a timeout after Washington got two dunks for a 4-0 lead.

“Just a little wake-up call,” Gobert said of the timeout.

But the huddle seemed positive, with a lot of clapping once the Wolves broke it. That didn’t immediately lead to an uptick in the play, however.

The Wolves trailed 59-57 at the half after shooting only 36%. But in the third quarter Towns started getting what he wanted at the rim, and the Wolves took control of the game with a 33-19 third quarter. Towns struggled to 2-for-10 from three-point range after his 62-point night Monday. So he figured he’d take it to the bucket.

“Just do everything else when one part of the game is not as sharp as it needs to be that day,” Towns said.

BOXSCORE: Wolves 118, Washington 107

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Then in the fourth, Edwards had some of his best late-game moments after the Wizards cut the lead to 109-102 with 3 minutes, 15 seconds remaining. He also accomplished that by taking the ball to the rim. He scored the Wolves’ last seven points, all at the rim or free-throw line.

“I think sometimes it feels to me like he’s trying to overthink things,” Finch said of Edwards. “The hesitancy, indecision — he just has to hit the turbo button and go.”

That can be easier said than done when defenses pack the paint against him. But on Wednesday, the Wolves’ late-game offense looked better than it has in a while, especially in the three games they have missed Conley. His illness could linger and affect his status for Thursday’s game in Brooklyn, but what wasn’t lingering was the bad stench Monday’s game caused.

“It’s about discipline, it’s about not feeling good when we’re first in the NBA, and also after a loss feeling like we’re the worst team in the world,” Gobert said. “Just keep trusting our strength, keep trusting our work every day. This year we’ve been doing that.”