Alex Bader
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Orlando Magic after a dreadful performance in the fourth quarter. Minnesota played a great three quarters but failed to show up in the fourth. They were outscored 43-19, which led to their third loss on the season, bringing the Wolves to 3-3.
The Timberwolves jumped to a 12-6 lead with just over seven minutes left in the first quarter. Mcdaniels had three quick fouls and had to be taken out.
It was a great start against a team that had one win prior to this evening.
Minnesota continued the great first quarter on both the defensive and offensive sides of the court.
Karl Anthony Towns continued his great first half, grabbing six rebounds, nine points, and two assists.
Minnesota went into the second quarter with a 32-26 lead over the Magic.
The Wolves started the second quarter strong. With over 9 minutes left, they had a 10 point lead, 38-28.
With five minutes left, Minnesota had a 46-39 lead over Orlando.
The fouls were starting to become an issue, with multiple players on Minnesota who had two or more fouls.
The Magic made their free throws count and kept the game close.
Cole Anthony led a seven-point scoring Orlando run and tied the game at 46-46, with just under four minutes left in the second quarter.
Minnesota responded well and went into halftime with the lead over Orlando with a score of 58-53.
The Wolves played decently through the two quarters, but allowed the Magic to stay close with too many fouls and poor shooting as the game progressed.
Towns had 15 points and seven rebounds, Edwards had 14 points, and Naz Reid had 10 points off the bench.
Jalen Suggs had 10 points. Cole Anthony and Wagner had 14 points each.
Russel left the game at half-time with a right sprained ankle injury and finished with 3 points, 3 assists, and 5 rebounds. The status of how long he will be out is unknown at this time.
Edwards played point guard for the second half with DLO and Beverly out.
Minnesota started the third quarter hot and pushed the lead to 10, but allowed the Magic to continue to come back into the game.
With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, the Wolves had a 9 point lead, 76-67.
Minnesota went to the fourth quarter with a six-point lead over Orlando, 78-72. Everything was looking like Minnesota was going to scrap this win together.
However, Orlando started the fourth quarter hot. With 10 minutes left in the game, Orlando had the lead over Minnesota, 83-79 Magic.
After leading for the majority of the game, with six minutes left, the Wolves found themselves trailing the magic by nine, 94-85 Magic.
The Magic heated up in the fourth and sucked the energy out of the crowd and the players.
The Wolves would need something quick to turn the game around and avoid an embarrassing loss to a 1-6 Magic team.
With just over three minutes left to play, the Wolves were trailing the Magic, 106-91. Things were looking bleak and fans were well aware, as many started to head for home.
The Wolves played decently for three quarters but didn’t show up in the fourth when it mattered most.
The Magic won 115-97 on the back of a tremendous fourth quarter. Minnesota was outscored by 43-19 in the fourth.
Minnesota started the game very well but got worse as the game went on; Orlando started poorly but improved in the later parts of the game.
KAT ended with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists. ANT finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Vanderbilt had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Naz Reid had 10 points and two rebounds off the bench.
Minnesota had a 37.5% field goal percentage. They shot a poor 27.5% percentage from behind the three-point line.
Orlando had a 45.1% field goal percentage and shot 39.5% from behind the three-point line.
Cole Anthony led the way for the Magic all night and finished with 31 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Franz Wagner had an excellent game for the Magic as well, posting 28 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
Minnesota Native, Jalen Suggs, had 15 points, four rebounds, and one assist. He had several cheers from the home crowd whenever he got a bucket.
Minnesota has to figure out their consistency problems and get back on track against the Clippers - who are also looking to get back on track - to avoid going 3-4.
If DLO is out they will need someone to step up and help ANT and KAT.
BADER'S TAKE
Inconsistency is an issue.
The Minnesota Timberwolves played a great three quarters in tonight’s game but failed to show up in the fourth, costing them the win.
It seemed no player could get the ball to fall.
How is it that the Wolves can go into the Milwaukee Bucks arena and get a hard-fought win but lose to the Orlando Magic ( 1-6 coming into tonight ) on home court!?
Consistency needs to improve.
With Russel out for the second half and ANT playing point guard, the Wolves seemed disjointed and lost. The Wolves need to have bench guys step up to help the team. Outside of KAT and ANT tonight, the rest of the team didn’t show up in a big enough way to provide a win.
I would argue that the Wolves' starters like KAT and ANT got outshined by the likes of Cole Anthony and Wagner. We have seen much better games from both KAT and ANT this season. But they cannot do everything, and the depth guys have to provide more when called upon.
Consistency needs to improve. Simple as that.
What's Next:
Minnesota Timberwolves ( 3-3 ) vs. Los Angeles Clippers ( 1-4 ) at the Target Center on Wednesday Nov, 3rd 2021. Tip-off at 7 p. m.
Subscribe for free to stay up to date!
Did you enjoy the article? Let me know your thoughts!
Contact, Comment, Like, Share
(A profile is required to comment but not to like or share! profiles are easy to make!)
Comments