The Minnesota Timberwolves held Cooper Flagg to 12 points and ran the Dallas Mavericks out of Target Center 133-94 on Thursday night, and coach Chris Finch made sure the defense got its credit, as first reported by ClutchPoints.
Flagg came in averaging 25.1 points and 7.2 free-throw attempts a game. He left with 12 points, seven rebounds, two free-throw attempts and a minus-21. Finch credited a rotation of long wings, Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga and Jaylen Clark, for crowding his space and keeping him off the line.
“He’s got such a high motor, so you gotta match that first and foremost,” Finch said of last year’s No. 1 overall pick.
Melo Ran the Show
On the other end, former Hornets star LaMelo Ball had 22 points, nine assists and two steals, per the Bleacher Report box score. Bones Hyland led the way with 24, and Minnesota piled up 74 points in the paint to Dallas’ 42. Dallas actually led 24-19 late in the first before a 15-2 Wolves run flipped it for good.
The IAHHM Take
Carolina folks have a stake in both sides of this one. Flagg is a year removed from Durham, where he was the face of Duke basketball, and Melo spent his first NBA years making Charlotte must-see TV. Thursday, the Hornets’ old point guard got the last laugh on the Blue Devils’ old star.
Don’t overreact on Flagg, though. Rookie-to-sophomore growth is about nights like this. Minnesota (9-3, five straight wins) is one of the best defensive teams in the league, and he’ll see a lot of different coverages after a 25-a-night start. Dallas falls to 7-5.
The real question: is Melo in Minnesota making the Wolves a real threat in the West?
Source: ClutchPoints
