Date: 11/8/2015
Outlet: Pioneer Press
Author: Associated Press
Timberwolves beat Bulls in overtime behind Andrew Wiggins' 31 points
Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves clamped down on the Chicago Bulls with the game on the line Saturday night.
Wiggins scored 31 points, and the Timberwolves shut out the Bulls in overtime in a 102-93 victory.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for Minnesota, which had lost two in a row. Fellow rookie Nemanja Bjelica also scored 17.
The Timberwolves outscored the Bulls 9-0 in the extra session, marking the first time in franchise history that Chicago failed to score in an overtime period.
The Timberwolves are 3-0 on the road for the first time since 2001-02.
"We just had to fight -- we wanted it," Wiggins said. "We were hungry for this game.
"When we went to overtime, we stayed aggressive."
Towns' layup made it 98-93 with 2:32 remaining in overtime, then the No. 1 overall draft pick set up Tayshaun Prince for a layup with 30 seconds to go. Bjelica added two free throws for the final margin.
Pau Gasol had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago, which was coming off a 104-98 victory Thursday night over Oklahoma City. Tony Snell scored 14 points.The Bulls shot 35.5 percent (33 for 93) from the field and were outrebounded 58-50 by the Timberwolves. Chicago missed all nine of its shots in overtime.
"I don't know how we play with as much energy as we did (against Oklahoma City) and then just show up the next (game) just expecting to win the game," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said.
"It's tough to fathom how that can happen."
Bulls guard Derrick Rose agreed. "It's all about effort," Rose said.
Wiggins spun away from Taj Gibson for a tying dunk with a minute left in regulation, and Prince gave Minnesota the lead with a driving layup. But Gasol tipped in a miss by Nikola Mirotic with 21 seconds remaining and Wiggins missed badly on a long jump shot as time expired.
"I told the guys whatever you do, don't leave time on the clock because Derrick Rose and those guys are so explosive," Minnesota coach Sam Mitchell said. "They make plays and are used to those situations."
Timberwolves rookie point guard Tyus Jones was active for the first time this season but did not play. Jones, an Apple Valley native and former Duke standout, took the place of guard Kevin Martin, who missed the game for personal reasons.
Wolves Press Clippings
Date: 11/6/2015
Outlet: Pioneer Press
Author: Marcus Fuller
Timberwolves: Shooting woes tied to failure to run offense
Karl-Anthony Towns sees himself breaking out of a shooting slump soon.
When he misses a bunch of shots he usually makes, Towns said, the next opponent "should be worried."
"I got exactly the shots I wanted; I just didn't get them to fall," the Timberwolves' rookie center said of a 3-for-13 performance in Thursday's 96-84 loss to Miami.
Towns wasn't the only starter to struggle offensively in losses to Portland and the Heat at Target Center.
The Wolves (2-2), who play Saturday at Chicago, started the season with great ball movement and big scoring performances from Ricky Rubio and Towns in a couple victories.
But Minnesota's starters shot 27 percent (11 for 41) Thursday against the Heat and 33 percent (14 for 42) in a 106-101 loss Nov. 2 to Portland.
Coach Sam Mitchell said his players took a lot of one-pass shots Thursday night, especially in the first quarter, when they shot an embarrassing 25 percent (6 for 24).
"Just the mark of a young team, not understanding that you've still got to run your offense," Mitchell said. "You've still got to make multiple passes. You've got to give the defense a chance to make a mistake.
"I just thought we started pressing when the ball didn't go in early, and young guys are going to do that. They don't understand that you've got to stick with your stuff. You've got to move the ball."
Andrew Wiggins (10 for 35) and Rubio (6 for 16) have been out of rhythm. Wiggins doesn't look comfortable playing his new position at shooting guard.
Rubio hasn't been as aggressive offensively as he was in the first two games of the season.
There were several times against the Heat where the ball stopped moving and the Timberwolves stood and watched while one player went one-on-one.
"We feel it," Wiggins said. "There are always times in games where that happens. We need to adjust, fix the problem when we notice it."
Towns had a season-low six points against Miami. He settled for a lot of jumpers, but he had to against 7-foot shot-blocking specialist Hassan Whiteside. Towns said he was frustrated with himself for not looking for his teammates more after he failed to hit shots.
"It started even with me taking shots and not passing," he said. "Seeing opportunities (for me), instead of trying to find a greater opportunity."
Minnesota's bench has outscored the starters 115-70 in the Wolves' two losses. Kevin Martin (38 points combined) and Gorgui Dieng (20 points combined) scored in double figures in both games.
But Zach LaVine and Nemanja Bjelica combined for just eight points on 3-for-12 shooting against Miami.
The second unit still had 13 of the team's 16 turnovers and was playing selfishly at times, as well, which led Mitchell to go deeper into his bench with Adreian Payne and Andre Miller.
"It's not the fact that we had a game like this," Mitchell said. "Now my biggest hope is that we learn from it -- that the next time, because there's going to be a next time, where the ball's not going in, that we understand that we've got to set better screens, we've got to run, we've got to make hard cuts.
"We've got to do all of those basketball fundamental things to give ourselves a better opportunity to make shots. That's what veteran teams do; they understand that. They understand the ebb and flow of an NBA game. Young guys, they think they're all just going to get it back. It just doesn't work like that."
BRIEFLY
Mitchell said after Friday's practice that rookie Tyus Jones would not be assigned to the NBA Development League right now and would get a chance to play.
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