WASHINGTON — As the calendar turned to December, the soft start to the Timberwolves' season came to an end. The Wolves will face no team below .500 entering the month and have a slate of opponents with the highest winning percentage in the league, according to NBA.com.
The Wolves have turned some heads around the league with their play of late, and it will take the same effort if they want to keep their heads above water when 2021 becomes 2022.
That odyssey began with a 115-107 loss Wednesday night on the road to the resurgent Wizards.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 34 while Anthony Edwards had 25 despite being one of the four Wolves players who were on the injury report with flu-like symptoms or illness.
Perhaps that illness made some of the Wolves sluggish. Whatever it was, the Wolves' defense was not up to their standards this season in allowing 68 points in the paint to Washington.
The Wolves also had some concern for Towns' health, as he exited the game with 2 minutes, 14 seconds to play after falling hard on his back following a dunk. Towns walked off the floor but was sprawled on the bench in pain.
The Wolves' next film session will feature plenty of footage of dunks from Montrezl Harrell, who had 27 while Bradley Beal had 19 for the Wizards.
The night started in a sluggish way for both teams, especially the Wolves' starters as Towns and Russell shot a combined 1 for 11 in the first quarter. The Wizards were able to get out in transition against the Wolves, especially early. Washington hit just one field goal outside of the restricted area in the first quarter.
The Wizards were also able to frustrate Towns at the rim early with Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford each picking up blocks. Neither team played inspired basketball in the first quarter with a combined 12 turnovers. Both sleepwalked their way through to a 24-24 draw after one.
The second quarter saw Towns get going offensively by attacking the rim, this time avoiding the blocks that plagued him early. After his slow start, Towns went 6 for 9 in the second quarter for 16 points. Both teams also cleaned up their act in the second quarter with just four combined turnovers.
On the defensive end the Wolves had little answer for Harrell, who set up shop around the basket and took advantage of some Wolves defensive breakdowns. Harrell was 5 of 6 for 12 points in the first half. The Wizards had 19 field goals around the rim in the first half. The Wolves had eight, but they were ahead 57-53 headed into the locker room thanks to Towns' proficiency.
Going to Towns worked again for the Wolves in the third as he was up to 32 by the end of the quarter. It marked Towns' 83rd game with 30 or more points and he passed Kevin Garnett for the most in Wolves history with Wednesday's performance.
But the Wolves' defense struggled and the Wizards hung 38 on them. Harrell had another nine points in the third while Beal had nine of his own.
Those problems didn't have a correction in the fourth. The Wolves let Harrell have his way, and by the time Harrell blew past Edwards for a dunk with 2 minutes, 36 seconds remaining, the Wizards were up nine, and a Wolves team that has had a lot of answers recently had nothing to offer Wednesday and left wondering if Towns was OK.
