Game 2: Minnesota Timberwolves 82-102 Houston Rockets - 5 Talking Points

#3 Timberwolves' terrible offense

Karl-Anthony Towns hounded by PJ Tucker and James Harden

Unlike Game 1, when the Timberwolves lost the plot late in the game, on Wednesday night, they disintegrated after the first quarter itself. The game wasn't competitive past halftime, as Minnesota already trailed by 15 after two quarters and weren't playing like they were primed to make a run that would cut into the lead.

A lot of it has to do with their miserable offense. They had multiple 5+ minute scoring droughts and when you are up against one of the best teams in the league, you simply can't have that.

16 turnovers, shooting percentages of 38.8% (31-of-80) from the field and 27.8% (5-of-18) from beyond the arc are just box score numbers that highlight their disappointing night on offense but visually it was just unbearable.

The Rockets weren't shooting too well either (36.5% and 30.8% on 3s) but Minnesota never troubled them because they never took advantage of their chances. A huge blame, if you want to call it that, can be put on Playoff rookie Karl-Anthony Towns, who had a second-straight miserable game - 5 points, 10 rebounds on 2-9 shooting and 0-2 on FT's.