An ongoing problem for the Minnesota Timberwolves over multiple years has been a bad record in close games. There is a lot of random chance influence in close games, and the Wolves have seemed particularly unfortunate. That run continued into this season, with the Wolves having dropped a close one to the Spurs on opening night.
The bank is always open for Andrew Wiggins
We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.
Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
But things changed for at least a night on Sunday.
Go watch the final 8.9 seconds of the Wolves game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City. With the Wolves up by two and 8.9 seconds left coming out of a timeout, Russell Westbrook sets up Carmelo Anthony for a buttery three. Swish. But there are five seconds left on the clock for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins gets it, gets a beautiful hard screen from Karl-Anthony Towns, and banks in a 30-footer.
That’s how you win a close game.
This was a classic Wiggins-Towns game, with Jeff Teague finally showing out and Jimmy Butler providing solid back-up. Westbrook had a strong game, and Melo’s been pretty good for OKC. But Paul George struggled to 4-of-20 shooting against Butler.
The Wolves!
Scores Galore ...
... And so much more
For the first time in more than a full calendar year, we have a coach firing in the NBA. Earl Watson got booted by the Suns three games into the season. He took over midway through the 2015-16 season; his record is 33-85 as a head coach. That’s not all his fault, of course: He was hired to help develop young players amid a rebuild. But losing your first three games by a combined 92 points is not great. So Watson is gone. So are three assistant coaches. Jay Triano is the interim head coach.
Chris Mannix thinks Steve Nash should take over. Nash is probably thinking that he doesn’t need that mess in his life.
Before the Watson news broke, Eric Bledsoe created a wild scene by implying he is not actually injured despite the Suns’ claims he might sit due to injury on Monday, and he also tweeted that he wanted out. Free Bledsoe!
DOUBLE FREE-THROW AIRBALL! Can you guess who?
The Warriors are 1-2, and Draymond Green had to have a chat about keeping one’s composure with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant after both got ejected in a loss to Memphis Saturday night. What a world.
Ugh, Chris Paul could miss a month. And who knows how long Milos Teodosic will sit to recover from plantar fasciitis.
Dang Giannis Antetokounmpo is good! He dominated a Bucks win over Portland Saturday night. Paul Flannery wrote Friday on Giannis’ graduation from the NBA’s best kept secret to one of its biggest stars.
The Kings hired Jenny Boucek as an assistant coach. She’s the third woman to coach in the NBA.
You remember how bad Lonzo Ball looked in his debut against Patrick Beverley? He was the complete opposite against the Suns one night later. Rookies, huh?
Mark Heisler on the Lonzo Ball experience.
Kevin Love is out here shooting five free throws in one possession. (The Cavaliers dropped a game to the Magic at home on Saturday, so don’t expect them to go streaking.)
Rodney Hood nutmegged Karl-Anthony Towns. Quite rude.
Department of Corrections: Last week I said DeAndre Jordan was donating $1,000 per rebound to hurricane relief. It’s actually $100, which is still a helluva lot of money because Jordan is an incredible rebounder.
Who got next?
Monday has an eight-game slate. NBA TV has Raptors at Spurs at 8:30 p.m. ET; it should be a delightful game. Grizzlies-Rockets at 8 p.m. and Wizards-Nuggets at 9 p.m. should also be highly watchable. Full schedule here.
Be excellent to each other.
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