Minnesota Timberwolves get on track in game three

The Minnesota Timberwolves made this a competitive series against Houston after a big win in Minneapolis on Saturday.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were gifted a throwback performance by Derrick Rose and also happened to address one of their biggest weaknesses, three-point shooting, on their way to a win Saturday in Minneapolis. The Wolves hit 15 three pointers, six above their season average of 9.3, and outscored Houston 69-54 in the second half.

The Timberwolves were also satisfied with their effort on the defensive end and if this team is able to hit three’s and defend, they jump from a borderline playoff team to an actual Western Conference contender. Friday was a team effort all around from the Wolves. Andrew Wiggins was impressive on both ends of the floor, Karl-Anthony Towns returned from his two game disappearing act to score 18 points and grab 16 rebounds. Jimmy Butler did his team leader thing and scored 20 some points while he did it.

When the Wolves are able to get these kinds of performances out of their top guys, they look impressive. If the Wolves are getting performances like the one was saw from Derrick Rose from the bench, they might actually have a chance to win this series.

Rose scored 17 points and looked like the Chicago/MVP version of himself on Saturday. This is exactly what Tom Thibodeau had in mind when he brought Rose in mid-season and the rest of us scratched our heads. Can we expect to see this type of productivity from the former MVP going forward in this series? Probably not, but the fact that he showed he is still capable of that type of performance in limited minutes makes the signing look a lot smarter than it did 48 hours ago.

Next: Minnesota Timberwolves: Silver linings down 0-2

The Wolves still face an uphill battle if they want to defeat Houston in this series, being down 2-1. Keep in mind they nearly stole the first game in Houston without Towns, had a throwaway performance in game two and got some much needed rest for their starters and in game three, put it all together and won handily. Things are looking up, Wolves fans.