The game soon entered the second half.
With the Minnesota Timberwolves leading the Los Angeles Lakers by 20 points, the Timberwolves did not choose to replace the main lineup. Instead, the main lineup and individual substitutes continued to score on the court.
This arrangement also made the Lakers very puzzled.
Even Nick Young couldn't help but ask Derrick Rose on the court, "Hey, Derrick, what's going on with your team? Why do you always use the main force to fight us?"
"Man, is there a big difference between beating us by 20 points and beating us by 40 points?"
Nick Young's words left Rose speechless.
After a while, he answered the former, "Nick, this is all coach Tom's arrangement! As a player, I can only choose to obey..."
Although the Timberwolves' main lineup players were exhausted too quickly, because they were strong enough, they still opened up the score little by little after the second half.
The Lakers did not live up to expectations. They still failed to seize the opportunity even though they were already lagging behind. Instead, the Timberwolves opened up more and more points.
As the two sides entered the second half of the final quarter, the score on the court had already reached 37 points. The Lakers had no will to fight from top to bottom. Only team general manager Luke Walton was left standing. Berating the players on the team bench.
Not only the Lakers have lost their fighting spirit, but the Timberwolves have also lost their fighting spirit.
The team was leading by so many points, but head coach Thibodeau still refused to replace Rose and kept Howard on the court.
Although the others also played for a long time, they were gradually replaced in the second half of the fourth quarter, leaving only these two people on the court.
Fortunately for Rose, after all, this is not the first time he has cooperated with Thibodeau. He has already known the other party's temperament and personality, and he also knows the other party's coaching style better.
But Howard couldn't bear it at all!
With 3 minutes and 14 seconds left in the game, Howard, who was already exhausted, simply stopped running. He stood on the sidelines and shouted directly to Thibodeau, "Coach, I want to get off the court and rest!"
"Dwight, what are you leaving for?"
Coach Thibodeau spread his hands, "Can't you bear this little intensity? It seems you have indulged too much in the offseason! Keep playing! I think you can definitely hold on until the end of the game... .”
When Howard heard Thibodeau say this, he didn't care that he was out of breath and shouted angrily at Thibodeau, "Fuck you... Fake Squid! Tom! I am not a slave, I need to rest now ..."
After saying that, Howard walked off the court directly.
This scene caused exclamations from the fans on the sidelines.
The live camera also focused on Howard and wrote a close-up of him. Many fans thought he was injured.
Seeing this, Thibodeau had no choice but to ask the referee for a substitution at this time, so that Howard could finally sit on the bench and take a good rest.
"Damn it!"
"This bastard, what does he think I am? The workers in the factory work less hours than me... Damn it! If you keep fighting like this, I will get hurt sooner or later..."
Howard was still cursing as he sat on the team bench to rest.
Zhao Feiyang on the side handed him water and a towel, and patted his shoulder to express comfort.
"Dwight, get some rest!"
"Zhao, why do you think the team signed this guy to be our head coach? I have played in the NBA for so many years, and it is not that I have never encountered a strict head coach, but someone as stubborn as this... I still First time seeing..."
The game continues on the court.
The Timberwolves finally successfully won the game, and the point difference between the two sides was fixed at 129 to 90. The 39-point gap was the final result of the two sides.
After the game ended, the fans left the field one after another.
The Lakers players also made a surprising move. They all refused to shake hands with the Timberwolves players and left the court without even saying hello.
This move also undoubtedly embarrassed the Timberwolves on the field.
In the sports news that night, the local media in Los Angeles reported the game. Regarding the Lakers' loss of 39 points, many local industry insiders in Los Angeles expressed disappointment and criticism.
"A terrible performance! Losing 39 points proves that the Lakers have fallen into the dust!"
"Oh! The Lakers have set another record since the new season! I used to think I could criticize them, but looking at it now, I don't even know whether I should criticize the players or the head coach, or both... "
"Without a doubt, this is a disappointing Lakers team!"
In addition to expressing disappointment with their own team, many Los Angeles fans and industry insiders are also dissatisfied with the Timberwolves' arrangements.
"Damn! Will the Timberwolves only play with their main players? I simply can't understand that with a double-digit lead, most of the main players of the Timberwolves are on the court! And they are leading by 20 points, and Derek is still on the court. attack......"
"Damn the Timberwolves! Why do they have to find their presence here with the Lakers? Come on, if you are unhappy, wouldn't it be better to go to the Golden State Warriors? What kind of stupidity is Thibodeau doing? He wants to use this way to prove his Is your coaching level very good?”
"From today on, I will support whoever wins the Timberwolves! The team can lose the game, but it cannot be humiliated! The Timberwolves are humiliating us..."
There are constant disputes in the public opinion outside, but Thibodeau, as the protagonist of the story, doesn't care at all.
He'd heard so much criticism over the years that it didn't matter to him. The Timberwolves management didn't know what they were thinking. When the internal stability of the team was not stable enough, they did not get involved to solve this matter, but allowed these things to continue to ferment.
In short, with the return of Zhao Feiyang, the Timberwolves' overall strength has increased.
Although Coach Thibodeau's ability on the offensive end is not that interesting, he has very high requirements for the team's defense, which has also made the Timberwolves' defense not good enough to improve to some extent.
Although the team was full of internal complaints, in the following games, relying on the performance of the main lineup, the Timberwolves defeated their opponents without exception.
This also made their ranking jump to sixth in the Western Conference, and they are gradually climbing towards fifth in the Western Conference.
While the big ship of the Timberwolves is swaying forward, they finally face the heaviest opponent in the regular season.
That team is the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The two teams battled in seven games in the Finals last season, ending with the Timberwolves winning. Although the Warriors continue to disrupt the situation this season, both sides are secretly holding back their energy. Now that the battle is coming, it has naturally attracted countless fans to pay attention to the outcome of this game.
