Let’s keep it short and sweet, tonight, yes?
Minnesota jumped to a double-digit lead in the second quarter with a massive run and reached a stage 32-6. Orlando scored 8 points in the second quarter and had just 35 points at halftime.
Minnesota built their lead on the back of D’Angelo Russell’s amazing shot and strong play from Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaden McDaniels on the power forward. I will post tomorrow with a longer pickup post, but the main positive to take tonight was that the Wolves have two players who can play the 4.
Unfortunately, the Wolves could not regain a lead. Once again, they let go of the gas and the opposition failed. They scored 5 points over the last 6:32 of the game.
Minnesota was outscored by 17 points in the second half, the last three of which were Cole Anthony’s game winner, which came after Minnesota inexplicably failed to announce the time-out before Jarred Vanderbilt could be polluted. Yes, Vando could only drive the free throw crazy, but Minnesota leaves the arena with two timeouts out in their pocket. Maybe they will use it next game.
Anyway, whatever. These losses are starting to become incredibly demoralizing. This team needed Karl-Anthony Towns, yes, but it was another game they could win and not. It’s early, but the season is slowly slipping away.
Hope everyone enjoys a nice glass of red, and we’ll see you tomorrow morning for a more detailed response after this sting has disappeared.