INDIANAPOLIS – Gorgui Dieng missed the Timberwolves’ first two games out of the All-Star break because of personal reasons.
When he came rejoined, Dieng was out of the rotation.
The backup center has not played in any of the past three games, including Thursday night’s 122-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers, even though he was healthy. Dieng’s benching was a call interim coach Ryan Saunders made.
Saunders said he made the decision because of how others, such as Anthony Tolliver, were playing in Dieng’s absence. Saunders also said he liked how Taj Gibson was performing in minutes as the backup center.