The Timberwolves extended their losing streak to eight games Saturday with a 110-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Saturday was the 14th time in 15 games the Wolves have lost as they try to compete despite starters Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin being out, the Star Tribune says.
The NBA-leading Warriors (24-5) had been in a minor skid themselves, but came out of their two-game losing streak as six players scored double digits to top the Timberwolves in California.
Golden State outshot Minnesota by a slim margin – 46.6 to 44.2 percent – but made far fewer mistakes. The Wolves committed 25 turnovers to the Warriors’ 16, the box score shows.
“We basically beat ourselves,” Flip Saunders said, according to The Associated Press.
Some good news for the Timberwolves though, Yahoo Sports is reporting Rubio, who has been out since Nov. 7 due to a severely sprained ankle, may return to the court in two to three weeks, if an upcoming MRI shows his ankle is healing on schedule.
“It’s painful seeing them struggling some games,” Rubio told Yahoo. “But we’re young. … We didn’t know that three of our best players would go down. It’s hard when 20-, 19-year-old kids have to take 40 minutes a game.
The Wolves have been starting rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. Wiggins had 10 points Saturday, while LaVine had 12.
Next up for the Wolves is the Utah Jazz Tuesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
