The Timberwolves Blew a 10-Point Lead in 3 Minutes | HOOPS, 11/25/25
Sacramento lights the beam, Detroit’s streak hits 13 straight, Tyler Herro’s return, and more.
The Tip-Off: Question of the Day
Game of the Night
The Timberwolves Blew a 10-Point Lead in 3 Minutes
For the second straight game the Minnesota Timberwolves had an improbable collapse vs. a “lesser” opponent. Down 10 with three minutes left, the Sacramento Kings battled back to force OT behind clutch plays from DeMar DeRozan (33pts/4a), Keegan Murray (26pts/14r)1, and a ton of hustle by Malik Monk on both ends of the court. One night after it was reported that just about every single player on the roster is available for trade, the team responded with an extremely resilient performance that was awesome to watch. It’s just the third time this season that Sacramento fans got to see the beam.
With the Wolves, it’s the same thing every time at this point: their lack of a primary point guard is limiting this team’s upside. Rob Dillingham played nine minutes, Mike Conley played 25, but the bulk of the game was the Anthony Edwards/Donte DiVincenzo backcourt that produced a whopping five assists between the two of them. A lack of ball movement from the backcourt is severely limiting the offense and worse than that, coach Chris Finch continues to push Julius Randle as a connecting piece in place of a point guard.
The result are too many empty possessions like this one where Donte throws an ill-advised lob to Edwards.
Now, the Wolves aren’t the only team this happens to and they certainly won’t be the last to blow a lead but there’s this feeling I get when watching them that none of this matters or alarms them. Like the last two Western Conference Finals appearances are more than enough proof that they’ll be fine when in reality it should be doing the exact opposite. I have to imagine this team will be active in the trade market very soon if these collapses keep happening but without a lot of wiggle room, would they really give up a valuable asset or two to go land a major point guard? The answer to that question may prove to define their entire season.
One Thought For Every Game on Monday Night
Pistons - 122, at Pacers - 117
Jaden Ivey had 12-points in 12 minutes in his second game back from injury, providing a very nice dynamic to help the Pistons reach their 13th-straight win, tying the longest streak in franchise history. The downside is that Ivey’s return means Daniss Jenkins’ role being shrunk down to just eight minutes.
Cavaliers - 99, at Raptors - 110
The Raptors won their eighth-straight game behind a huge night from Brandon Ingram (37pts/7r) and suffocating defense as they held Donovan Mitchell (17pts/8a) and Lonzo Ball (8pts/7r/7a) to just 9-35 shooting from the field. Toronto’s stifling defense was on point all game as they held Cleveland to 99 points and even more impressively just 13 free throw attempts.2 Here is Brandon Ingram post-game who spoke on the team’s resilience and chemistry.
Mavericks 102, at Heat - 106
Tyler Herro (24pts/7r) made his season debut and immediately fit right in with this new look Heat offense as he went 12-18 from the field. Miami just keeps rolling somehow despite playing their third game in four nights and without Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, or Nikola Jovic for this matchup.
Knicks - 113, at Nets - 100
The Nets have still not won a game at home this season as Karl-Anthony Towns (37pts/12r) and Jalen Brunson (27pts) combined to score 64pts. The game was never really in doubt and the Knicks have now won 12-straight matchups against the Nets.3
Trail Blazers - 115, at Bucks - 103
The Bucks have now lost five straight games while Giannis has missed the last three with an adductor injury. This was the kind of loss for the Bucks that sends up the distress signal. Portland took the lead with 7:35 left in the second quarter and then just never trailed again. While Giannis is a massive loss on both ends of the court, this team has looked downright uncompetitive at times without him which makes me wonder if this could be the beginning of the end of his time in Milwaukee when he returns to the court.
Nuggets - 125, at Grizzlies - 115
Bask in the glow of this Nikola Jokic pass.
Ok, now that that’s done I also want to shoutout Cam Johnson. Denver’s big off-season acquisition had an extremely slow start to the season, averaging 8pts/3r/2a in his first 12 games but in his last five he’s averaging 16pts/5r/3a including a 3-4 3PT shooting night vs. Memphis. In the wake of injuries to Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon, Cam is picking the very best possible time to finally start rounding into form.
Bulls - 130, at Pelicans - 143
This reeked of a game where the Bulls thought they were going to come in and cruise to a win just because New Orleans has such a bad record.
Jose Alvarado is listed at 6’0, 179 pounds and he finished this game with eight boards.
No Bulls player had more than six rebounds. The 55-33 rebounding advantage for the Pelicans is just one part of the story of a Bulls team that turned it over 17 times and hoisted 50 three-point attempts en route to the shocking loss.
Rockets - 114, at Suns - 92
In the absence of Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson (28pts/7r/8a) and Alperen Sengun (18pts/5r/5a) more than picked up the slack to help lead Houston to the win over KD’s old team. Also, I understand Dillon Brooks has been having a good year but seeing him shoot 22 shots while Devin Booker attempts just 13 is just so weird to me.
That said, I did love seeing this interaction between Brooks and his former head coach Ime Udoka.
Jazz - 107, at Warriors - 134
Steph Curry laced up a pair of the Sabrina 3’s with Sabrina Ionescu in attendance and proceeded to drop 31-points in 29 minutes. Even without Draymond Green who missed the game with an ankle injury, the Warriors’ ball movement was extremely crisp all game with 34 assists on 51 made shots. The highlight though was a massive 41-20 second quarter that included a 17-3 run that helped them build a double-digit lead by halftime.
Players of the Week
At the Buzzer
- Minority owners claim Mat Ishbia is mismanaging Suns
- Pelicans’ Jordan Poole (quad) cleared for on-court activities, Herb Jones out one week
- Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty in Mafia-tied poker case
- This clip of Luka Doncic talking about beating JJ Redick at pickleball is too good
- Lakers sign Drew Timme to 2-way contract, rule DeAndre Ayton out Tuesday
- This camera angle of a Pistons play is basketball perfection
Key Games Tonight
Only three games tonight so let me know what you’re excited to watch.
Hawks at Wizards
Magic at 76ers
Clippers at Lakers
Thank you guys for hanging out today, I hope everyone reading this is doing well and hopefully enjoying a short holiday week. Take care.
The Kings are now 5-1 when Keegan Murray scores 20+ points and 10+ rebounds in a game
Cleveland currently averages about 26 free throw attempts per game for the season.
Fun fact: the last time the Nets beat the Knicks was actually my 33rd birthday: Jan. 28, 2023.