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Andrew LopezESPN
NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy joined his team after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-105 on Thursday night, calling his defensive performance “embarrassing.”
“Look, I understand I’m on my own and what we’re putting on the defensive is embarrassing, honest,” Van Gundy said. “We all have to take ownership. Many of them are me and many of them are our players, and they have to take ownership of a certain property. We didn’t compete tonight, and that’s the bottom line.
“We didn’t compete. We didn’t help each other. We didn’t play together at any end of the floor. A very embarrassing evening for us tonight.”
The Pelicans looked like a team with a mission to push into the playoffs in the first eight minutes of play – jumping to a 16-point lead in the first quarter. They were beaten 125-79 in the last 40 minutes of play.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Timberwolves became only the second team in the last 25 seasons to win a game by at least 30 points after trailing by at least 15, joining the Chicago Bulls, who took it against the then-new Jersey Nets on December 23, 1996.
Minnesota also became the third team to win a game by at least 30 points after entering the contest with a winning percentage below .200 30 games this season, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The last team to do this was the Cleveland Cavaliers in January 1971.
Van Gundy called it the worst offensive game the pelicans have played in some time, but he blamed their defense – ranked second in the last class in the defensive standings – for the loss.
“We didn’t shoot well and, honestly, we’re so bad on defense that we can’t have a bad offensive night,” Van Gundy said. “We can’t even have a mediocre night. If we have an offending bad night, we’ll be crushed like tonight.”
The Pelicans shot 43.0% of the field and passed 6-of-32 from the 3-point range. They also did not help at the free throw line, where they were 13-of-24.
It was a free night for downtown Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 7-of-19 shooting and 2-of-10 from the 3-point range – but great performance from Anthony Edwards (27 points) , Jaylen Nowell (28 points, shot 11 of 13, 6 of 7 deep) and Jaden McDaniels (20 points, shot of 8 of 9, 4 of 5 deep) helped them win.
It was Timberwolves coach Chris Finch’s first win in six games since taking over as head coach in the NBA last month.
“[The Timberwolves] played well and were inspired to play. We didn’t think we cared, “Van Gundy said. I got what I deserved. When I say, again, I don’t put everything on the players. I’m a big part of that too, but I don’t absolve them. We are all. “
Van Gundy said he did not know why his team lacked the fighting and energy he showed before the break, even in losses. But he indicated that it started on Wednesday, when the team returned from the All-Star break.
“I didn’t have energy in practice yesterday either,” Van Gundy said. “It was one of the worst practices I’ve had in my career. I don’t know. Sometimes the days off are lazy. Obviously, it helped them and it didn’t help us. It was a bad, bad performance. we can play much better tomorrow night. “
The Pelicans striker, Brandon Ingram, said that the team throws a little rust back after the break, but, at 15-22, he knows that the Pelicans do not have much time left if they want to make a half in the playoffs.
“There are only 35 games left and we want to be in the playoffs, so we have [to have] the urgency to realize, “Ingram said.