NBA Game Notes: Wolves Comeback and more

Notes from: Timberwolves-Thunder, Nuggets-Pacers, Pistons-Clippers, Wizards-Nets, Trail Blazers-Jazz

The “baseball series” sets of games that the NBA has adopted in recent years have been interesting. They give you a little bit of a playoff feel, but not quite. It’s always fun to see the wrinkles from game to game. We got that with Minnesota and Oklahoma City the last two nights.

The Wolves crazy comeback highlighted the night. We also got some good inter-conference matchups from playoff teams and a couple of fun battles between lottery teams too.

Here’s what I saw on Monday!

Minnesota Timberwolves - 131 at Oklahoma City Thunder - 128 OT

• We’ll start at the end…sort of. The Thunder took a 16-point lead on a Jalen Williams layup with 3:55 to play. It felt like game over.

  Not so fast my friend!

  Over the final 3:55, the Wolves outscored the Thunder 16-0 to force overtime. During that period, Minnesota held Oklahoma City to 0-for-9 shooting.

  It was one of those crazy things that you couldn’t believe even as it was unfolding in front of your eyes.

• As Minnesota made their run, Chris Finch stuck with the guys who got them there, even in the final minute or so. It takes some guys to leave Anthony Edwards on the bench, but Finch did it and it was the right call.

• Related to the above: Credit to Anthony Edwards for being a good teammate and not sulking. The Wolves start got back in during the overtime period and delivered what ended up being the game-winning defensive play:

• This was another strong game in what’s become a string of them for Terrence Shannon Jr. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. The really exciting parts of Shannon’s game were grabbing 10 rebounds and these blocks on back-to-back possessions during the Wolves comeback:

• Minnesota’s perimeter play won them this came. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaylen Clark, Terrence Shannon Jr and Rob Dillingham all had moments on both ends of the floor. That’s good stuff from the Timberwolves depth guys.

• Really strong game from Jaden McDaniels. Loved that he took Alex Caruso off the bounce for the and-1 here. The best part? This came right after McDaniels missed a layup only seconds before. He stayed aggressive and on the attack. Love that mindset!

• This game was a good example of how much the Thunder miss Chet Holmgren when he’s not on the floor. Yes, they’ve won plenty without Holmgren, but he’s their “easy” offense go-to when things are getting sideways. Because he’s such a matchup nightmare, OKC likes to get it to Holmgren to make something happen when nothing else is working. The good news? No back-to-backs in the playoffs. That means the big guy should be there when the games really matter most.

• He fouled out, but it was good to see Cason Wallace back out there doing his thing. Still waiting for a little more off-the-dribble juice from Wallace, but it’ll some. He’s got the skills to make it work.

• Pretty solid game for Jaylin Williams for the Thunder too. He’s in the “stay ready” role with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein both back. Good to see him adapting and being productive despite the non-regular playing time.

Denver Nuggets - 125 at Indiana Pacers - 116

• Nikola Jokic is ridiculous. 19 assists is an absurd number from anyone. From a center makes it almost unbelievable. But, since it’s Jokic, it’s all believable.

• OK, Zeke Nnaji! That’s more like it! Look, Denver was -4 in Nnaji’s 24 minutes, but that’s fine. As long as he’s not a disaster, Nnaji can contribute. Plays like this block of Tyrese Haliburton’s step-back three are the ones that get you excited!

• This was kind of a fun game from Jamal Murray. With other guys getting going, Murray was content to keep the ball moving and played some fairly solid defense too.

• Big fourth quarter from Christian Braun with 10 points. He’s such a smart cutter. This is really good play design from the Nuggets. It’s a three-man action with Braun setting the initial screen for Jamal Murray. From there, Murray gets into his drive off the handoff from Nikola Jokic. As soon as Tyrese Haliburton turns and sinks off Braun towards Jokic, Braun is off to the rim. Really good stuff here.

• Indiana needed someone to make shots that wasn’t Tyrese Haliburton. Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner were both off. That’s usually when Bennedict Mathurin steps up, but he never really got going in this one.

• The Pacers non-Haliburton ballhandlers got really messy with the ball. Only the Nuggets being even worse with ball security kept Indiana in the game.

• This was a terrific recovery/catch-up block from Aaron Nesmith on Russell Westbrook. Nesmith gives Indiana energy and perimeter defense that they don’t get from anyone else.

LA Clippers - 97 at Detroit Pistons - 106

• Can we get nitpicky about the Pistons in a win? They’ve earned that as a good team now, right?

  The next step for Detroit is closing out games a little better. They ultimately got there in this one, but it was a bit shakier than you would like. Mostly, it’s about valuing possessions late in the game. Not rushing shots or turning the ball over.

  Mostly, it’s really good to be critical of the Pistons in a game they won against a fellow playoff team!

• Ausar Thompson is a demon on defense!

• Loved this late-game push by Dennis Schroder. This is a good shot, because Schroder gets into the paint, draws the entire defense and sets up Malik Beasley for the easy one. And Schroder used half of the shot clock to set it up too.

• Cade Cunningham is a late-game killer now. Dagger shot from the Pistons All-Star.

• Bogdan Bogdanovic got the start and it was a nightmare game for him. He went 1-for-12 from behind the arc and 6-for-19 overall. The Clippers needed him and Bogdanovic just couldn’t deliver. Better day tomorrow!

• James Harden struggled too. Detroit threw a lot of different looks at him. Including the block from above, Harden really struggled with the athleticism from Ausar Thompson.

• Kris Dunn turned in another strong game. He helped keep Cade Cunningham under control, and Dunn also did a nice job to keep Malik Beasley from getting going.