This is the surprise result of the night: Wolves won against Jazz. And in addition, they did it by posting a big defense, since they conceded only 96 points. Well, it was not that in the first quarter, that they lost by the score of 40 to 26, but the men of Chris Finch managed to tighten the screw then, to collect a maximum of 22 points on the other three quarters (final score: 101 to 96)
“It became a game where we ran everywhere. As we are rather long and athletic, we can really do that. It was the case tonight. A lot of interceptions were made on actions where we came from behind, because we were able to read the actions well. It’s easier for a young team to be very active, not to have to think too much and just give it their all to get by. I found that this is what we did. We would run everywhere, we would plug the holes and that forced them to create play all the time. ” Chris Finch.
Even the decisive action, which killed the game in Wolves favor, was achieved in defense, when Mike Conley tried to send a lob at Rudy Gobert with 25 seconds left, but the ball was intercepted by Anthony Edwards, very good last night (23 points). Karl-Anthony Towns then scored a three point on the other side, and the size of Jaden McDaniels definitively folded the meeting, preventing Bojan bogdanovic to take a voucher shoot, which caused a air ball. The Wolves have limited the Jazz in the last 3 quarters to 33% shooting, including 31% from distance. And that, this season, is not usual.
“I think we just played with a sense of urgency. This first quarter was not fun, they scored 3-pts all over. But we had this sense of urgency, we were in the field and we were doing the close-outs, we forced them to drive. They drivent a lot anyway, but we did a good job preventing them from shooting from a distance, and we put in a lot of effort. I think that’s what happened in the last three quarters. There are videos where everyone did the right rotation, where guys were defending on three opposing players in the same possession, which is great. I don’t think we’ve done that in the last few games, but it was cool to see today, and we need to build on it. ” Josh Okogie.
According to Finch, those famous last three quarters were simply Wolves’ best since taking office.
“It’s clearly the best defense I’ve seen from us. It all starts with our will and our ability to be physical. Our guys did a great job reading the loopholes in our defense. ” Chris Finch.
“It’s difficult, tiring, but if you want to win you have to make that kind of effort. We’re trying to build a culture of winning here, and it’s starting now. I have a feeling that if we can continue the same way against Houston, and even after, it doesn’t matter who plays against us, then we will have something special. I hope something has happened. I can’t see the future, but I hope. ” Anthony Edwards.
Wolves now have a record of 17 wins and 44 losses, and will have the opportunity to string together two wins in a row for the first time since the first two games of the season against Houston, the last of the NBA.
Via Twin Cities and Star Tribune.
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