Wolves have no answer for Zion Williamson in loss to Pelicans

It looked like it was going to be Karl-Anthony Towns' night on Monday in New Orleans. 

Towns scored 10 of the Wolves’ first 13 points to start a torrid first half. But the rest of the Wolves, however, weren't giving him much help.

By the time Towns got some, he went cold — going the entire second half without a field goal. 

And the usually stout Wolves defense had no answer for Zion Williamson.

All that added up to a 121-107 loss to the Pelicans, putting an end to Minnesota's six-game winning streak.

Williamson had 36 points and five rebounds while shooting 13 of 17 from the field. He bulldozed his way to the bucket at will throughout the night.

Seemingly the Wolves' only solution to stopping Williamson was fouling him. Williamson attempted 12 free throws (made 10) and the Pelicans as a team attempted a whopping 40.

"The story was 40 free-throw attempts and 19 of them in the third quarter, I think, 28 in the second half," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters postgame. "Lot of fouling. Lot of foul calls."

The Wolves (17-5) were playing without Anthony Edwards, who was inactive due to the right hip pointer that he reaggravated during Friday’s game at Memphis. 

He was listed as questionable leading up to the game, but was ruled inactive by the team a half hour before the game.

But it wasn’t all bad news on the injury front for Minnesota, which got Jaden McDaniels back for the first time since he suffered an ankle injury on Nov. 20. The Wolves also returned Jordan McLaughlin. 

McDaniels started 0 for 3 from the floor, but eventually found a rhythm and finished with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He also had three boards. 

"I thought Jaden was good in moments," Finch said. "Struggled to find an offensive rhythm out there as to be expected first game back."

The Pelicans (13-11) pulled ahead after a back-and-forth first half, taking a seven-point lead into the halftime break after a Brandon Ingram 3-pointer bounced off the backboard and into the hoop to beat the second-quarter buzzer.

New Orleans pushed its lead to 15 in the third quarter, but McDaniels started heating up for Minnesota, which cut its deficit down to four by the end of the frame thanks to a half-court buzzer beater from McLaughlin that made it a 90-86 ballgame.

But the Wolves couldn’t get much together offensively as the Pelicans pushed their lead back up to double digits in the fourth quarter. And Minnesota still had no answer for Williamson.

Towns finished with team-high-tying 17 points before fouling out — 15 of his points came in the first half — and 12 rebounds, 11 of which came in the first half. 

"They were doubling (Towns). They were super physical, just couldn't get a clean look in the post," Finch said. "Really handsy with him on and around the paint."

Mike Conley and Naz Reid scored 17 points apiece, and Shake Milton added 12. 

Williamson got some offensive assistance from CJ McCollum, who tallied 23 points, and Ingram, who had 20. 

Final key stats

• Zion Williamson: 36 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
• CJ McCollum: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
• Brandon Ingram: 20 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 17 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist
• Mike Conley: 17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
• Naz Reid: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
• Jaden McDaniels: 12 points, 3 rebounds 
• Shake Milton: 12 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound