Shorthanded Timberwolves Run Out of Gas in Ugly Loss to Pistons

The Wolves had their worst shooting night in over seven years on Saturday.

Mar 28, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) reacts during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Target Center. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

A few weeks ago, Saturday's Timberwolves-Pistons game looked like a marquee showdown in Minneapolis. Anthony Edwards and Cade Cunningham, two superstars competing to be the next American face of the NBA. Two teams with championship aspirations. No wonder the game was picked up by ABC after not initially being slated for national TV.

The reality was a lot less fun. Edwards missed a sixth consecutive game with a knee injury (on his bobblehead day, no less). Cunningham missed his sixth straight game with a lung ailment. The Wolves were also without Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu, while the Pistons didn't have Isaiah Stewart.

Of the two shorthanded teams, the slightly healthier Pistons were the only one to show up. They gained some separation late in the first quarter and never looked back in a 109-87 win. The Wolves shot an unsightly 27 of 85 from the floor (32 percent) and 9 of 43 from three (21 percent). They never had a lead after 9-8 in the first few minutes.

It's only the 13th time in Timberwolves history — and the first since November 2018 — that they've shot 32 percent or worse from the floor in a game.

No one had a very good night for Minnesota, but it was particularly rough for Julius Randle (2 of 13 for 11 points), Naz Reid (3 of 15 for 8 points) and Bones Hyland (2 of 10 for 6 points). Collectively, that's 7 of 38 shooting for those three. Donte DiVincenzo was the Wolves' leading scorer with 22 points, though he needed 18 shots to do it.

Down three players, the Wolves started Mike Conley and Terrence Shannon Jr. alongside DiVincenzo, Randle, and Rudy Gobert. Conley and Shannon combined for 11 points on 10 shots.

Seven players scored in double figures for the Pistons, led by Tobias Harris with 18. They committed 20 turnovers but shot 52 percent from the field and 38 percent from long range. They also won the rebounding battle 52-38 and outscored Minnesota 60-32 in the paint.

Harris had 11 of his points in the opening quarter to help the Pistons take a 33-24 lead. The Wolves were down just 49-44 after a sloppy second quarter for both teams, but Detroit won the second half 60-43 to easily pull away.

Next up for the 45-29 Wolves is a trip to Dallas to take on the 24-50 Mavericks on Monday night. Dallas has gone 5-24 since January 22.