MINNEAPOLIS _ There were still a few boo birds for Jimmy Butler perched at Target Center on Monday night, the first time the Timberwolves played there since Friday's consternation-filled home debut.
Perhaps there were fewer of them because there were just fewer people in the building, and while there were some boos and some cheers, they lacked the passion of Friday's opener.
It felt more like a regular-season game in the Wolves' 101-91 win over the Pacers, like the fans have begrudgingly eased into this uneasy truce between Butler and the organization _ and as a result a decent amount decided to stay away.
Playing in front of a crowd with plenty of empty seats, the Wolves had Butler back in the lineup after he was out for Saturday's game against the Mavericks for "precautionary rest."
Butler's 20 points and dogged defense on the Pacers' Victor Oladipo played a large part Monday, but it was a fourth-quarter spurt from the Wolves' bench that helped them secure the victory.
The Wolves entered the fourth quarter down 73-72 as Thibodeau left five bench players to start the quarter. They scored the first seven points as Derrick Rose had a pair of baskets and assisted on Tyus Jones 3-pointer. Then Butler checked in for Rose and a few moments later Karl-Anthony Towns (17 points, 14 rebounds) replaced Gorgui Dieng, but most of the contributions on the offensive end came from the bench. Jones nailed a few more shots while Josh Okogie, who got minutes in place of the injured Andrew Wiggins, contributed a 3-point play along with energetic defense. They enabled the Wolves to grab a 92-79 lead with just less than five minutes remaining.
The Wolves had to play much of the game without Wiggins, who exited the game in the first quarter because of a right quad contusion. Wiggins has been durable throughout his career, having missed only game in his first four seasons and playing in all 82 the last two seasons.
He left Monday's game after playing just eight minutes and scoring two points as he helped the Wolves to an early lead.
Monday's game had a different tone on the floor than the Wolves' other three games. Points were a little harder to come by for both teams in the first half. The Wolves, who shot 14 of 27 from 3-point range against the Mavericks, hit just 2 of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half.
However, the Wolves' defense kept the Pacers from lighting them up and held them just 36.4 shooting for the half. The Wolves' weakness was again on the glass as they allowed the Pacers to grab offensive rebounds for 10 second-chance points. The Wolves didn't grab any offensive rebounds of their own and lost the rebounding margin 29-18 in the first half. But the improved that in the second half, outrebounding the Pacers, 29-17.
Oladipo, who was the NBA's Most Improved Player last season during his first year with Indiana finished with 20 points on 8 of 23 shooting as Butler and the Wolves made life difficult for him around the rim.
For as good as the bench was it was Butler who showcased again why the Wolves are a better team with him in the lineup. He had a good night offensively _ 6-for-12 from the floor and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line _ and he played effective defense on Oladipo, especially in the third quarter when Oladipo shot 1-for-7.
Then the bench took over the in the fourth quarter. Okogie, who finished with 12 points, got a nice ovation from the crowd as he checked out. Even at one point in the night, Butler fist bumped owner Glen Taylor. After the game, the small crowd yelled at Butler as he exited to the locker room. Their chant: "MVP."
