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Minnesota roared back from the dead to take a one-point lead in the final 10 seconds of Wednesday’s bout with the Lakers thanks to a 14-2 run in the game’s closing minutes. In the end, it was all for naught. On the game’s final possession, Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves split Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, got into the paint and dropped in a floater that silenced Target Center once and for all as the Lakers went home with a 116-115 victory. “We should never have put ourselves in that position,” Wolves forward Julius Randle said. Minnesota lost its second-straight game, both of which it played without Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Clark. But the Lakers are currently sans Luka Doncic and LeBron James, among many others. Los Angeles only dressed nine healthy bodies Wednesday. Reaves was the team’s only legitimate on-ball creator. Yet Minnesota struggled to slow the Lakers’ offense for much of the evening. That is, until the final six minutes. The Lakers scored just five points between a Rui Hachimura layup with 6 minutes, 5 seconds to play and Reaves’ game winner. Minnesota’s on-ball pressure – which was improved all evening, particularly thanks to the play of Jaden McDaniels – ramped up another notch. Stops equated to transition the other way. Finally, the Wolves looked like their old selves again. “Unfortunately,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said, “it took us to get down the way we were to get that out of us tonight.” While Minnesota pressured the ball, its weakside and low-man coverage struggled. Los Angeles’ off-ball players scored via putbacks, cuts and 3-pointers at will – most notably Jake LaRavia, who finished 10 for 11 from the field for 27 points. The first half was one defensive blunder after another, Los Angeles’ as simple pick-and-roll actions would somehow leave to a shooter standing wide open in the corner. “Sometimes it’s miscommunication, but other times it’s just on the individual guy. We have our standard, we have our defense. We know where we’re supposed to be. It’s not supposed to be rocket science in any sort of way,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “We just have to be more aware. We have to have our heads on a swivel and be ready and willing to do the multiple actions and multiple efforts. I think we’ll make one or two efforts, and the third one we’ll kind of relax. And that’s when somebody cuts or somebody goes for an offensive rebound. And, as a whole, we just can’t allow that to happen.” The Wolves know as much. They’ve seen the results over the past two seasons when they do defend, and how those fade when they don’t. Randle said Wolves coach Chris Finch preached the team’s defensive principles all day Wednesday and throughout the game. The forward had no answer when asked why the player execution didn’t follow. The amount of effort and attention to detail across the NBA has been notable early this season. The Thunder and Pacers used those two traits to reach last season’s NBA Finals. Even short-handed Wednesday, the Lakers pushed the ball and consistently picked at Minnesota’s defensive scabs through strong execution. If you aren’t willing to do the same for 48 minutes, you won’t win games in this league at the moment, regardless of opponent. Minnesota is learning that the hard way. The Wolves played harder on the ball Wednesday, but their rotations were subpar. The “fly-around” mentality the league’s great defenses possess was nowhere to be found. “I think we’re just a step slow, a step behind. That’s what I see it as,” Randle said. “Too many straight-line drives and then we’re a step behind, not moving on the flight of the ball.” The final six minutes provided a window into the team Minnesota can still be when it’s locked in on its core principles and playing with maximum effort throughout a possession. “When we get stops, man, we look like that type of team. We get stops, we’re able to get out and run, guys are in more rhythm and flow because the ball is moving. We’re playing fast-paced,” Randle said. “At the end of the game, we’re trying to run. There’s no agenda. The ball is moving. It’s popping. I think sometimes we get a little too bogged down by our offense. The ball stops moving and maybe we’re not in the gap or not low man or whatever. We just gotta lock in for a full 48 minutes on that end.” It’s worrying for Minnesota that 38-year-old Mike Conley had to ignite the late rally. He noted his burst came out of frustration with how the Wolves’ games have played out over the past week. “Just started trying to be a pest, getting my hand on the loose balls, be physical. All things I know I can do to help the team. Try to put myself on the ball a little bit more whenever I get the opportunity,” Conley said. “You start to see more guys just start to fall in line and we started to play a different brand of basketball. That’s why I point at me a lot. If I can be more assertive on that end, maybe I can spark something for our guys.” It was a veteran five that got the Wolves back into the game. Through five games, second-year players Terrence Shannon Jr. and Rob Dillingham sport the team’s worst defensive ratings. Perhaps it was the veterans feeling the urgency of going below .500 amid a soft early-season slate that brought out some of the Wolves’ best basketball of the season. But even their play has been far from consistent. Randle said he knows “for a fact” Minnesota is a better team than what it’s shown through five games. But it has to prove as much. You are the product that you put on the court. And that – for the Wolves – is currently a team unwilling or unable to play with the urgency required to drive winning basketball. “I have faith in our group. I know we will do it. We just gotta stick together,” Randle said. “We can’t point the finger. Just stay together.”
