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.
