When the Minnesota Timberwolves lose by 15 points to that Brooklyn Nets team, you know they've officially given up on the year. There's no reason that a team without three of their Top 5 or 6 players should beat the Wolves like they did tonight.
The Brooklyn Nets are playing without Brook Lopez (foot) who is out for the season. They were also without Andrei Kirilenko (ankle) and Kevin Garnett (back) for tonight's game. Despite that and the obvious mismatches a starting lineup of Deron Williams, Shaun Livingston, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce & Mason Plumlee should've outdone Minnesota. Don't get me wrong, there is some tremendous talent in Brooklyn, but watching them play, they seem very disjointed in running their offensive sets. Nothing really seems to flow. I say nothing seems to flow and yet they score 114 points. Paul Pierce's 22 points & Joe Johnson's 19 aided the Nets in their triumph over the Wolves. These two teams met earlier in the year when the Nets were one of the worst teams in the NBA. They've figured some things out since then and are a likely 5th or 6th seed in the East playoffs next month. With 10 games to go in the season, it appears that the Wolves who have all but technically fallen out of the playoff race, have called it a season and are looking forward to another playoff-less spring in Minnesota. Kevin Love had another off night. He scored 14 points on 14 shots along with 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 33 minutes. He also seemed to injure himself in the final minutes of the game. He came out with just over two minutes to play with an apparent knee injury, though it didn't appear to be anything serious. Corey Brewer & Kevin Martin once again led the team in scoring with 21 points apiece on very good offensive nights for the Wolves swingmen. Unfortunately, Minnesota's downfall came from the play of their second unit. Shocker...right?! The Wolves bench led by Barea, Budinger, Mbah a Moute, Dieng & Cunningham started the second quarter with the Nets up 3. Within the first few minutes, the Wolves found themselves down by 12 points. Adelman eventually had no choice, but to put the starters back in. They got the Wolves back into the game, erased the deficit and actually took a 6-point lead at one point in the third quarter. However, another spurt from the Nets helped them roll to a 99-114 victory. If the Wolves truly have given up on the season, it is going to be an ugly last 10 games. Minnesota's last ten opponents in order: Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Magic, Spurs, Bulls, Rockets, Kings, Warriors & Jazz. The Wolves will be lucky to end the year with more than 3 or 4 more wins. The Wolves will face the Clippers tomorrow night, back at the Target Center. Tipoff is set for 7pmCST, try to enjoy the game.
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Cody D. AndersonA Wolves fan bringing you Gameday Recaps all season long! 2014-15 Game ArchivesGameday Archives
December 2015
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