Minnesota controlled the game from the outset and seemingly never let loose of its grasp.
Minnesota hit its first bump in the road this week. Every NBA team will incur those — it’s the nature of an 82-game season in which the games come fast and furious. No team can always be at its best.
But these are the moments Timberwolves guard Mike Conley noted in training camp define championship-caliber teams. One trait all great squads have in common, he said, is resiliency.
This week — in which the Wolves lost consecutive games for the first time all season after seemingly losing their edge — marked the first adversity the current top team in the Western Conference had stumbled upon all season.
“It’s the ability to go on a two- or three-game losing streak, snap out of it and have team meetings, talk to each other. The media is tackling you and trying to split you apart, and you band together and have moments in the season that become those signature moments that you can look back at and say, ‘Hey, this is when they became who they were.’ And then, boom, it pops,” Conley said in October. “I think a lot of teams go through that stage and they figure it out. We’re a team that I think we check some of those boxes — we’ve got the talent, we’ve got the bodies, we’ve got the depth — but can we withstand adversity? Can we get through it when things go rough?”
Friday’s answer was a resounding “Yes.” Minnesota responded to its first skid in impressive fashion, imposing its well against a stout Rockets team en route to a 122-95 victory in Houston.
Minnesota controlled the game from the outset and seemingly never let loose of its grasp. The Wolves compiled 60 points in the paint, outrebounded Houston 51-39 and held the Rockets to just 40% shooting while forcing 15 turnovers.
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