Timberwolves 119
Wizards 104
March 13, 2017 - Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
The Washington Wizards were playing their fifth game in seven nights on the road and it showed. John Wall was aggressive, but at times settled for an 18-foot jump shot instead of getting to the rim as you might otherwise. Washington missed an opportunity to finished a road trip 5-0 for the first time in team history but still came away with a 4-1 record for just the third time in team history (March 1970 and February 1973). The Wizards were not able to comeback from another 21-point deficit but eventually fell to the Timberwolves by a final count of 119-104.
Quick Hits:
Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.
Karl-Anthony Towns had his third best scoring performance of his career with 39 points. Not only did Towns drill a couple of dagger three-pointers at the end of the game, but he was hitting tough Dirk-esque fade away shots over Ian Mahinmi and Markieff Morris that just makes you shake your hand in amazement. Couple Towns' game with Ricky Rubio, yes, the player Minnesota drafted with Washington's fifth overall pick in 2009, and the Wizards were in major trouble. Rubio had 22 points and a career-high as well as Minnesota franchise record 19 assists that helped his team shoot an impressive 52.3 percent from the field. The Timberwolves are not a great team, but watch out because they have the talent to be a good playoff team in a couple of years.
The defense on this trip has been troubling.
When Washington gave up 41 points in the first quarter, a Minnesota season-high, they were already putting themselves in terrible position for a potential comeback. The defense was better the rest of the way, but spotting the home team an 18-point lead after the first 12 minutes of play is far from ideal. On this five game road trip, the Wizards have given up 30 or more points in 10 of the 20 total quarters: 41, 36, 36, 36, 35, 35, 34, 32, 31, 30. With so many games and Brooks smartly opting to rest players instead of non-stop practicing, Washington has not had a full practice for two weeks (February 27). They will probably have a day off tomorrow, while getting re-acclimated to life in DC, but expect coach Scott Brooks to re-focus his team on the fundamentals on Thursday.
Do not panic, but Bojan Bogdanovic is in a slump.
Bo Buckets, Bogie, the Croatian Sensation had a stretch early on with the Wizards where he was shooting 23 of 37 from beyond the arc. 62 percent! That is absurdly outrageous. As is the case with most players, there is a regression to the mean, which Bogdanovic has been hit with severely. Since that stretch, Bogdanovic is 3 of 17 from beyond the arc, which is just 17.6 percent. Hopefully some rested legs will get Bogdanovic back on track as the Wizards still need to finish off the last 16 games of the regular season strong.
Highlights:
When John Wall hits that gear forget about it. #SpeedKills
This absurd shot by John Wall...
B34L!
Wall and Keef knew it was coming. Set it up perfectly.