It was the Wolves who should have been the desperate team, coach Ryan Saunders said.
It was his team that should have played with energy. Not the winless Washington Wizards, who came to Target Center Friday night 0-5, finishing up a back-to-back, with star guard Russell Westbrook missing the game to get some rest.
But it was Washington. A quick Wizards start put the Wolves on their heels. And then a third-quarter thrashing took a close game and put it out of reach in a 130-101 loss to Washington that was the third straight for the Wolves (2-3).
The Wolves trailed by 16 early in the second quarter, but rallied to within three at the half. But it all went downhill in the third, a 40-14 Washington run that turned the final quarter into junk time.
"Our energy was low," Saunders said. "We tried to play our way and kind of just feel our way into things and you can't do that against a team that's desperate. You don't look at Washington's record. If you watch their games, they've done some good things. … They were desperate tonight."
And so the Wolves are in a rather desperate situation early in this season, having lost three straight games by an average of 127 points. Playing without Karl-Anthony Towns and, to a certain extent, Josh Okogie, has been a difficult adjustment. But it doesn't explain Friday.
Bradley Beal led all scorers with 31 points. He hit 12 of 20 shots, got seven assists, and spent the fourth quarter on the bench. He was one of eight Washington players in double figures. The Wi zards shot 55%, made 16 of 33 three-pointers, turned 20 Wolves turnovers into 33 points and scored 56 points in the paint. Center Thomas Bryant had 18 points and seven rebounds, making all seven of his shots.
