![\"Jace](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769442434_764_jace-e1568392091502.jpg\")
\u201cI thought that was a ghost of a performance by us,\u201d Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said following the 111-85 point defeat.<\/p>\nAt one point in Golden State\u2019s win over the Timberwolves on Sunday at Target Center, Warriors coach Steve Kerr leaned toward a Wolves player and said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not for the Warriors play or the win, but for the circumstances. Sunday\u2019s game was played roughly 30 hours after Alex Pretti was shot numerous times and killed on the street by federal immigration officers, just two miles from Target Center. Saturday\u2019s game was postponed 24 hours, but the lingering effects were palpable in the arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that was a ghost of a performance by us,\u201d Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said following the 111-85 point defeat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t have said it any better,\u201d guard Donte DiVincenzo said.<\/p>\n
It was another loss for Minnesota \u2014 the team\u2019s fifth straight heading into Monday\u2019s rematch with the Warriors. But this one was different than the previous four, all of which were competitive down to the final buzzer.\u00a0Sunday\u2019s performance was, as Wolves forward Julius Randle originally noted, \u201clifeless\u201d before quickly catching himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cTerrible choice of words,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
Everyone knew what he meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo energy to what we\u2019re doing,\u201d he said. \u201cNo purpose. No passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
From players or fans. The arena was subdued throughout, even when Minnesota closed the first half strong to pull within a point. Finch is usually stalking the sidelines, getting into the ears of officials nearly every time down the floor. He remained seated for much of the affair. The same was true for Kerr.<\/p>\n
Nothing about the setting felt appropriate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought the vibe in the stands was one of the most bizarre, sad games that I\u2019ve ever been a part of,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cYou can feel the somber atmosphere. Their team, we could tell they were struggling with everything that\u2019s been going on and what the city has been going through. It was very sad. It was a very sad night.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we got the win and we\u2019re happy about that, but very difficult to see so many people struggling and sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Players privately noted they\u2019d spent the day and a half ahead of the game doing the same thing as most people in the city \u2014 scrolling their phones, watching numerous different angles of a man being shot to death all while trying to gain information about what happened and answers of what\u2019s to come. All while being unsure of how to respond.<\/p>\n
Randle described himself as \u201cnot political at all,\u201d but that won\u2019t keep anyone\u2019s stomach from turning at such a sight, particularly when it takes place in your community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a human aspect to it. For me. I have kids. I have family. For me, the job as a man is to be a protector of the house,\u201d Randle said. \u201cWhen you see things like that, obviously it\u2019s tough. It\u2019s hard to stomach those things. I\u2019m not political at all. I don\u2019t get into any of that stuff, but it\u2019s tough, regardless of whatever is going on. Somebody loses their life; you never want to see that.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the minute I\u2019ve been here, Minneapolis has been great to me. The fans, the community have been really behind me. Everyone. Neighbors that I live by, community I live in, the school my son goes to, just everything. Been nothing but a joy living here. So, things like this happening in the community, it\u2019s tough. I don\u2019t like seeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerr noted fans likely came to Sunday\u2019s game in an attempt to briefly \u201cforget about stuff, I guess.\u201d Wolves players desperately wanted to be that distraction, that source of rallying and joy in the instant wake of tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we give a lot of purpose to the city, a lot of excitement, a lot of joy, entertainment,\u201d Randle said. \u201cWe play a huge role, in how the city is viewed, how we go out there and play. I think tonight was not a great representation of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it was apparent moments into the game that players simply weren\u2019t ready themselves to provide a release for others.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly,\u201d Finch said, \u201cthe mood was off from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wolves will try again Monday to move in a positive direction for themselves, and their fans. It\u2019s the only path forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour heart and your thoughts are with the family going through that tragedy,\u201d DiVincenzo said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not an excuse (for our performance). I think, if anything, sometimes that brings a community together more, and we need to stay together as a community, as a team, and just push through \u2026 these dark days. Because there\u2019s a lot bigger things than basketball, but what we can control right now is our basketball and our energy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At one point in Golden State\u2019s win over the Timberwolves on Sunday at Target Center, Warriors coach Steve…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,2026,376,307,152,3954,6,66,308],"class_list":{"0":"post-562116","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-timberwolves","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-chris-finch","10":"tag-julius-randle","11":"tag-minnesota","12":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","13":"tag-minnesotatimberwolves","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-timberwolves"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115962187133871546","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}