It wasn’t the most visually appealing, nor was it always the most fun to watch. Still, the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to 2-0 on the young season Saturday night by grinding out a 96-89 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Wolves posted a defensive rating of less than 100 in each of their victories, a feat they accomplished only seven times during the 2020-21 campaign.
However, the win over the Pelicans was equally due to luck as stringing together stops on defense. New Orleans missed several wide-open jumpers — 17, to be exact, and 19 that NBA.