Timberwolves at Pistons
The Minnesota Timberwolves hit a snag on their way to respectability on Wednesday with a 125-97 loss at the defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers. The Timberwolves will take their second stab at reaching 20 wins and a ninth victory in the last 13 games when they visit the Detroit Pistons in the finale of a two-game road trip.
Minnesota was a trendy pick as a playoff team in the Western Conference with Tom Thibodeau hired over the summer to guide the young roster and was finally beginning to live up to that billing before getting smoked by the Cavaliers. "I thought the first half we played well enough where we’d have a chance to win," Thibodeau told reporters after his team went into the break down just 63-60. "But I also knew in the third quarter they’d come out and bring it. And then we didn’t respond." Detroit was supposed to take a step forward this season as well but is struggling to find any consistency and snapped a three-game slide with one of its more impressive victories - a 118-98 thrashing of New Orleans on Wednesday. Detroit, which had little trouble in a 117-90 win at Minnesota on Dec. 9, began a stretch of five of six at home on Wednesday and is 13-10 in its own building.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (19-30): Minnesota is believed to have point guard Ricky Rubio on the trade block, but the veteran may be making himself indispensable. Rubio, who is one of the older players on the roster at 26, delivered a double-double with 14 points and 13 assists in 38 minutes on Wednesday - his sixth double-double in the last 11 games - while potential replacement Kris Dunn went scoreless and committed three turnovers in 10 minutes off the bench. Rubio's increased scoring is taking some of the focus away from fellow guard Zach LaVine, who went 4-of-18 from the floor on Wednesday and scored in single digits in three of the last seven games.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (22-27): Detroit got a career-high 38 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 8-of-11 from beyond the arc, from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Wednesday's win, emphatically ending a shooting slump by the 23-year-old Georgia product. Caldwell-Pope sat out four games with a left shoulder injury and was 11-of-41 from the floor in the first three games after his return. "I had fun out there," Caldwell-Pope told reporters. "I had fun with my teammates. They got me to 38, so I got to give it up to my teammates. They got me open when plays were called for me, and even when I was not open I was able to make plays for them."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pistons SF Tobias Harris is shooting 58.4 percent from the floor in the last six games.
2. Timberwolves SF Shabazz Muhammad matched a season high by scoring in double figures in each of the last three contests.
3. Minnesota C Karl-Anthony Towns is enjoying a string of eight straight double-doubles and is tied for second in the league with 38 - seven more than Detroit C Andre Drummond.