If you tuned out of Friday's Timberwolves 121-116 win over Phoenix when the Wolves were up 24 in the second half, you weren't alone. The team tuned out, too.
The Wolves cruised almost a little too much to the finish line against a depleted Phoenix team that was without several players, including Chris Paul and Devin Booker. This was the right moment for the Wolves to catch the reeling and injured Suns, and despite their disinterest in the fourth quarter, the Wolves rebounded from a disastrous showing Wednesday against Detroit to win for the fifth time in six games.
"Obviously we didn't finish very strong. It's something that we got to get better at," coach Chris Finch said. "You know, really good teams never get bored of doing the same thing over and over again. We've had a habit all season of building the lead and kind of hijacking our momentum with bad shots and turnovers that lead to crazy offense for our opponents."
Phoenix outscored the Wolves 41-29 in the fourth quarter to put a damper on what was otherwise a good night for the Wolves through the first three quarters. The Wolves shot 52% for the night and outscored Phoenix 64-46 in the paint to dominate the first 36 minutes. That cushion was enough to withstand their haphazard fourth.
"We just got comfortable, seeing the lead," guard Anthony Edwards said. "... We got to be better."
The Wolves losing focus in a game is not a new phenomenon, and Finch chuckled when asked what his options are to refocus his team in those moments.
"One thing I try to do is direct the ball to Kyle Anderson," Finch said. "And then, you know, just honestly wake up defensively a lot of times because our poor offense will lead to lapses in defense."
Anderson had 10 points and four assists after coming back from an illness that kept him out of Wednesday's game. Edwards played through what Finch said was a deep bruise in his left hip to score 31 points. That matched Phoenix's Damion Lee, who had 31 off the bench.
Edwards hasn't missed a whole game despite playing through his hip soreness he suffered on Dec. 30 after a hard fall against the Bucks.
"Certain steps, Euro steps, like going super fast and slowing down bothers it," Edwards said. "Changing direction and sliding my feet on defense a little bit, but I'm pretty good though."
His effort to play hasn't gone unnoticed by his teammates.
"It just sets a tone like this dude's invested," guard Austin Rivers said. "He's here. This guy's playing through injuries, no matter. The Houston game [on Sunday], a lot of guys would just sit out, like, 'Hey, we'll win without him.' But Ant came out there and really showed us."
Taurean Prince had 16 off the bench on 7-for-12 shooting while Jaden McDaniels had 14 points and six assists.
Rudy Gobert had just one shot attempt for four points to go with 11 rebounds, but Finch credited his defense in the paint as a big reason why the Wolves got the lead they did. Suns center Deandre Ayton had 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting after tangling with Gobert.
"I don't worry about it too much," Finch said of Gobert's shot attempts. "Rudy gets paid to block shots, rebound. We stress finding him in the flow all the time. We've done a better job of it. You know, sometimes it's going to be that way."
It wasn't a flashy performance, nor was it a game the Wolves will remember much beyond Friday, but it was a win at a time they needed it.
"Those last eight minutes, it got a little weird," Rivers said. "But other than that, we were really solid tonight."
