MINNEAPOLIS _ Interim coach Ryan Saunders said that no matter what, the Timberwolves would put their most competitive team on the floor the rest of the season, even if their odds of making the playoffs are closing in on zero.
On Saturday, their most competitive team in Saunders' view meant crucial clutch-time minutes for Keita Bates-Diop, a rookie making his first start for the injured Andrew Wiggins, and Cameron Reynolds, who re-upped with the Wolves on his second 10-day contract _ and the Wolves ended up winning the game.
Minnesota outgunned the Wizards, 135-130 in overtime, at Target Center and outlasted the Wizards in the extra session without Karl-Anthony Towns, who exited late in the fourth quarter because of a right knee injury. Towns finished with 40 points and 16 rebounds but the Wolves also got contributions from little-used players like Bates-Diop, who had 13 points and drew the defensive assignment late against Wizards guard Bradley Beal (36 points) and Reynolds, who played 20 minutes off the bench. But the main concern immediately afterward was Towns' injury. He went to the locker room before overtime for further examination and was ruled out then.
Without Towns in overtime, the Wolves got scoring from Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose (29 points) and Anthony Tolliver to build a 129-125 lead _ then Rose took over. His fadeaway put the Wolves ahead 131-127 with 22.6 seconds to play and Rose stole the ball on the Wizards ensuing possession to help the Wolves ice the game.
The Wolves almost won game in regulation and were ahead 121-118 with 1.8 seconds remaining, but Beal got free for an open look from 3-point range. He hit to send the game to the extra session. Moments earlier Towns had hobbled off the floor with 8.3 seconds remaining, grimacing in pain as he went to the bench. It was Towns who had given the Wolves the lead for the first time since early in the game with a 3-pointer at the 5:59 mark and broke a 114-114 tie with two minutes to play, although Beal would eventually erase that lead.
The Wizards couldn't contain Towns on the offensive end when he was in the game. He put up 26 on 16 shots in the first half although the Wolves trailed 71-60. After a Towns 3-pointer at the 5:43 mark of the second, the Wolves cut an early Wizards 15-point lead to 52-49 thanks to an 8-2 spurt. There was another scary play for the Towns then when Bobby Portis fouled him on a fast break. Towns fell to the ground and was slow to get up, but he stayed in the game.
In the third quarter, the Wolves continued to chip away at the Wizards' lead and at one point tied the score 84-84 following a Jeff Teague 3-pointer. Towns slowed down in the scoring department, tallying six and taking him off his 50-plus pace, but the Wolves got help in other areas, including Keita Bates-Diop, who made his first NBA start. Diop had seven points early in the quarter while Dario Saric also picked up the slack offensively with eight in the quarter. The Wolves also held the Wizards to under 30 points in a quarter and trailed 99-95 headed into the fourth.
The Wolves kept pushing to start the fourth, with Rose taking command of the offense to tie the score 102-102 with 9:16 to play. They would take the lead thanks to Towns, and they were able to close the night without him.
