Timberwolves coach Chris Finch pledged there would be a "new reality" after the All-Star break for the Timberwolves.
Thursday's performance, however, seemed like more fantasy than reality. In no way did the Wolves resemble the team that took the floor on a nightly basis before the All-Star break.
For once, the Wolves were the steamroller instead of the steamrolled as they defeated the Pelicans 135-105 in a cakewalk in New Orleans.
Instead of blowing a fourth-quarter lead, the Wolves (8-29) blew their opponents out of the gym.
Instead of playing mediocre defense, the Wolves hunkered down on the end of the floor, and instead of clanking threes, the Wolves finally hit a decent amount (19 of 40).
After a slow start, it was the Wolves' bench who turned a 16-point deficit in to an eventual rout. Jaylen Nowell caught fire in the second half to score 28 while rookie Jaden McDaniels had his most impressive stat line of the season with 20 and three blocks. Anthony Edwards found success taking the ball to the rim with 27 points and the Wolves won without needing a Herculean effort from Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 16.
The question is if this was just a blip on the radar, a night where everything went the Wolves' way, or a sign of the type of effort the Wolves may put forth on a nightly basis in the Finch era. Finch earned his first win as an NBA head coach while the Wolves snapped a nine-game losing streak.
The way the Wolves started looked a lot like the way they had ended they break, as New Orleans jumped out to a 13-4 lead with Zion Williamson (24 points) doing whatever he wanted offensively. That 13-4 lead soon became 24-8 as Anthony Edwards' struggled to find his shot early, though questionable shot selection didn't help his cause.
It seemed the Pelicans might just roll over the Wolves the way the Hornets did before the All-Star break. But the Wolves didn't display the kind of dispirited body language they had that night. The Wolves began chipping away at the end. Down 28-14, they first went on a 7-0 run as McDaniels had five of the points in that stretch. It was McDaniels who lit the spark in the first half with his scoring off the bench and the Wolves trailed 34-27 as Edwards was 0-for-4 in the first quarter.
The bench helped get the Wolves back into it. The second unit also didn't seem to mind not having a typical point guard on the floor as both D'Angelo Russell (knee surgery) and Jordan McLaughlin (COVID protocols) were out.
Edwards took over some of the ball handling duties and started attacking the rim, going 6 of 9 in the second quarter.
McDaniels was 5-for-5 off the bench for 12 first-half points. The Wolves overtook the Pelicans on a 14-3 run that featured a three and a tough layup from Reid along with a tough take to the rim from Edwards.
When the starting unit returned they picked up where the bench left off. The Wolves would get their biggest lead of the night at that point when Towns hit a buzzer beating three just before the half, his first make from deep in seven tries on the night. The Wolves posted 40 points in the second quarter, the fourth time they have scored at least 40 in a quarter this season, while holding New Orleans to 26.
Something funny then happened after halftime -- the Wolves actually extended their lead. It was Jaylen Nowell's turn to catch fire as he hit all four of his shots in helping the Wolves open up a 23-point lead by the end of the fourth quarter. Jake Layman also added nine points as he capitalized on the attention the Pelicans were giving to Towns.
Then another funny thing happened, the Wolves didn't blow the lead, as they have been inclined to do in previous fourth quarters this season. They closed the game out and never let New Orleans back in it.
Reality certainly looked different.
