Brian Murphy: Scar tissue from magical season will toughen Timberwolves

As Irish wakes go, a 10 o’clock last call is a felony, but the true crime was how the Minnesota Timberwolves no-showed Thursday night in the fading hours of a magical season that swirled down the drain of an awful week.

They’ll have five months to stew in the humiliation of being trucked out of Target Center by the dialed-in Dallas Mavericks and trolled by shot-making wizard Luka Doncic into a summer of stinging self-reflection.

Their 124-103 faceplant in the Western Conference Finals before a jilted but appreciative crowd of 19,333 is an open wound that eventually will heal. How Minnesota responds to a disappointing finish and heightened expectations for 2024-25 will validate or depreciate the monumental leap forward this forlorn franchise has taken in the local and national consciousness.

Throughout their regular-season revival and postseason resilience, the Wolves revealed the grass roots and grand ambitions of a dormant basketball town and downtrodden sports market starving for respect, relevance and a ticker-tape parade.

“We’ll be back next year, man. We’ll be all right,” declared blossoming superstar Anthony Edwards.

Reassuring words from a 22-year-old optimist who has only scratched the surface of his potential while barely tasting the agony of defeat. Leave it to his 54-year-old boss to state the obvious.

Nothing is guaranteed.

“You’ve got to start back at step one when the season starts, you can’t skip any steps,” said head coach Chris Finch. “The West is going to be a monster next year as it continues to be every year. Super proud of our guys building another layer of foundation to get where we’re trying to go.”

Despite ceding two playoff seeds and home-court advantage, the Mavericks outmuscled and outmaneuvered the one-dimensional Wolves, whose top-ranked and tenacious defense was not enough to overcome their overmatched and underwhelming offense.

Doncic buried Minnesota with 20 first-quarter points, including four 3-pointers from near midcourt that daggered the home crowd’s swagger. He poured in 36 and peacocked up and down the floor, taunting fans who harangued their series villain with “flopper!” chants that fell on deaf ears.

Kyrie Irving took over from there, matching Doncic’s production as the dynamic duo finished 28 of 49 from the field – lapping Minnesota’s frosty, 42.7-percent shooters.

The Wolves had no offensive counterpunch, failing to generate momentum or even the threat of it throughout the five-game series. That identity must evolve for Minnesota to burrow deeper into the postseason.

“We never clicked altogether as a team in this series,” said Edwards. “We’re not the best offensive team. We always depend on our defense. We got away from that in this series and it showed.”

The Wolves avoided a sweep Tuesday with an unexpected win in Dallas, feeding fans hope that they might be able to pull off the impossible, with Game 5 and a potential seventh at home.

But NBA history is undefeated against teams that fall behind 0-3. Minnesota became the 156th club to fizzle in the abyss. The inevitable was swift and merciless Thursday.

Despite sizzling rumors about a long-awaited drop in, Kevin Garnett did not make a grand return and levitate Target Center while death-staring Glen Taylor. But there was plenty of star power and electricity in the arena.

With Snoop Dogg riding shotgun courtside with Jimmy Jam, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson snuggling with rapper Common in a suite and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in the house, Target Center was primed for the Wolves to twist the vise on the Mavericks and drag them back to Dallas with deepening dread.

Minnesota not only failed to meet the moment they were consumed by it. Schooled by a more poised opponent. Bullied by a dynamic trash talker. Unable to foil a relentless attack that neutered the Wolves’ shot-making and psyche.

I’m not sure the Wolves could have hit water in Game 5 if they fell out of a boat. They trailed by 16 after the first quarter, shooting just 30 percent with Doncic on pace for 80 points. Dallas expanded their lead to 29 at halftime and 36 in the third quarter.

Snoop was about to take his Tanqueray and go home

Therein lies the rub.

Distilling a 56-win season, systemic takedown of Phoenix and storied comeback against defending champion Denver through the lens of a final four pratfall is simplistic and counterproductive.

But there must be a reckoning next spring. A deliberate push into June. Pound on that door to the Finals. Even kick it in.

Scar tissue hurts, but it also toughens the soul and conditions the mind for what it takes to reach the pinnacle. Don’t curse curses and fall into the cliched trap of what might have been.

These six weeks will make the Wolves better. The Jameson is preaching hard truths, so it must be true.