Mike Conley Turns Back Clock But Timberwolves Fall to Pistons Again

Thursday night offered a reminder that the only thing that really matters for the Timberwolves over the next couple weeks is getting Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels healthy for the postseason.

Without their best player and one of his key supporting pieces, the Wolves fell 113-108 to a Pistons team also missing their superstar guard (Cade Cunningham) and an important rotation player from the University of Washington (Isaiah Stewart). It was a back-and-forth battle for three quarters in Detroit, but Minnesota (46-30) ran out of gas a bit in the final act.

It's the second Edwards-less loss in the last six days for the Wolves against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons.

Julius Randle led the Wolves with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ayo Dosunmu and Naz Reid scored 19 apiece. 38-year-old Mike Conley turned back the clock with a season-high 14 points, all of them coming in the first half. But it was a tough night for Bones Hyland and Donte DiVincenzo, who combined to make just five of their 20 shots.

Starting in place of Cunningham, Daniss Jenkins was brilliant for the Pistons (56-21) with 26 points and 8 assists, including some k. Jalen Duren got the better of Rudy Gobert in a big-time center matchup, scoring 22 points and grabbing 14 boards.

The Wolves trailed for basically the entire opening quarter before ending it on a 9-2 run to take a 31-30 lead into the second. Randle scored 10 of his points in the opening period.

The second quarter is when Conley really started to heat up for the first time in a long time. He had hit one three in the first quarter, then added three of them in a three-minute span in the second. That included threes on back-to-back possessions. He led all scorers with his 14 points at halftime, with the two teams knotted at 54.

It was Conley's first time scoring in double figures since November and the most points he's scored since the second-round series against the Warriors last May.

"Just finally making some shots, honestly," Conley told Prime Video sideline reporter Kristina Pink. "Trying to do as much as I can while Ant's out."

The game remained tight in the third quarter, which included double technical fouls for an altercation between Hyland and Marcus Sasser. The Wolves got some big three-pointers from Reid and led by a point heading into the final frame.

Unfortunately, the Timberwolves just didn't have quite enough offensive juice in the fourth quarter without Edwards and McDaniels. The Pistons ripped off a big 11-0 run midway through the period to gain some separation and were able to hold off a late Minnesota rally. The Wolves had a chance down by five in the final minute, but DiVincenzo's three missed badly. He scored just 5 points on 1-of-7 shooting from deep.

The Wolves will be back in action on Friday night in Philadelphia. Joel Embiid is not expected to play in that game, and Edwards' status is TBD.