AUBURN HILLS, MICH. – Until Wednesday’s 28-point loss, the Timberwolves’ most lopsided defeat of the season was December’s 117-90 home loss to Detroit that proved a proven defensive-minded coach such as Tom Thibodeau is only as good as his players are committed.
Their 116-108 loss Friday in their final time at the Palace of Auburn Hills proved something else.
It proved their biggest need with the NBA’s trading deadline just three weeks away and summer’s free-agency shopping set to arrive in July: A power forward who can defend out on the floor in a league where “stretch” players at that position flourish.
The Pistons started two such players at each forward position Friday. Marcus Morris and Orono’s own Jon Leuer had career nights. They combined to make nine of Detroit’s 11 three-pointers and scored 60 of their 114 points.
Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau tried all kinds of defenders – everyone from Gorgui Dieng and Karl-Anthony Towns to Nemanja Bjelica and Andrew Wiggins – without much sustained success.
Morris made five three-pointers and scored 36 points, including a foot-on-the-line shot that was the dagger and pushed the Wolves back after they had pulled within six points in the game’s final three minutes.
A former Wisconsin Badger, Leuer wasn’t far behind with four threes and 24 points himself.
“Every time you get a look, shoot it with confidence,” Leuer said after an 8-for-16 shooting night. “It’s nice when the first couple go in.”
The Wolves’ three young stars – Towns (24), Wiggins (21) and Zach LaVine (20) – all reached 20 points, but it wasn’t enough.
Trailing by 10 points both in the first and fourth quarters, the Wolves pulled within 92-89 midway through the final quarter, but the Pistons answered back by scoring the next six points, the final two coming by Morris not from long-range but by a layup in transition.
After trailing by 10 points in the first quarter, the Wolves led by three points late in the second quarter and were tied at 76 in the third quarter’s final minute before the Pistons pushed themselves temporarily away.
They did so by scoring third quarter’s final seven points, including stretch power forward Tobias Harris’ three-pointer at the quarter buzzer for an 83-76 lead.
The Pistons then stretched their lead to 89-79 early in the fourth quarter before the Wolves battled back with that 10-3 run that got within 92-89 midway through the final quarter.
Towns started it by making one of two free throws. Then he added a putback basket and Ricky Rubio followed by scoring five consecutive points, a three-point shot and a pull-up jumper after both answered Leuer’s final three of the night.
When Shabazz Muhammad took a pass and blew by Pistons guard Reggie Jackson on the baseline for a dunk, it was a one-possession game with 6:03 left.
The Pistons led 12-6 and 20-10 early Friday and still were ahead 24-18 after one quarter before the Wolves used 12 second-quarter points from Zach LaVine and a 34-29 edge in that quarter to get within 53-52 at halftime.
They led by three points with fewer than 2 ½ minutes leftand were ahead 53-52 after Rubio made two free throws with 26.2 seconds left. But the Wolves Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson to get to the rim for a dunk with two seconds left and the Pistons led by a point at intermission.
LaVine started the game by making seven of his first 10 shots and finished 9-for-13 from the field just two nights after he went 4-for-18 in a lopsided loss at Cleveland.
He has been inconsistent since missing two games the second week of January because of a hip contusion. A 20-point a game scorer before the injury, he averaged 12.8 points on 38.3 percent shooting in nine starts since then.
He followed last Saturday’s 6-for-11 shooting night against Brooklyn by going 3-for-9 Monday against Orlando and then 4-for-18 against the Cavaliers.
“Sometimes it just goes that way, man,” LaVine said before Friday’s game. “I’m just going to keep shooting them the same way. I feel every time I step on the court, I’m fine. I don’t want to think about it too much. Sometimes you have bad days, I approach the next day with the same confidence.”
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