The Wolves acknowledged their failure to execute in the clutch, which cost them in their Game 1 loss to the Mavs on Wednesday night.
MINNEAPOLIS — There were two words that Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch used to describe what cost his team in its 108-105 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Wednesday.
„No composure,“ Finch said.
The Wolves committed five of their 10 turnovers as a team in the final frame, when the Mavs outscored them 10-3 in the final 3 minutes, 37 seconds to erase what was a four-point lead for Minnesota.
„We haven’t really closed quarters very well, closed halves very well over the last handful of games,“ Finch continued. „It cost us a game in the Denver series. It certainly had an impact on this game tonight, too. We’ve got to be better in clutch moments.“
The Wolves‘ late mistakes erased an inspiring rally in which they had gone on a 13-1 run over a 4:01 span in the middle of the fourth to turn an eight-point deficit into a four-point cushion.
First, Dereck Lively II grabbed an offensive rebound off a Kyrie Irving missed layup with nobody boxing out the Mavs rookie center.
