Bones Hyland is stepping up at the perfect time for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Hyland will aim to maintain his hot shooting when Minnesota tips off against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. The teams are separated by a half-game in the Western Conference standings as the playoffs approach.
The Timberwolves (44-28) are coming off a 10-point win at Boston on Sunday. They have won three of their past four games despite the injury absence of top scorer Anthony Edwards, who is sidelined by inflammation in his right knee.
Hyland is a big reason for the Timberwolves’ recent success.
“(I’m) just trying to go out there and provide what I feel like what we need right now,” Hyland said. “We’re missing ‘Ant,’ so obviously we need a lot of scoring. That’s what I’ve been gifted at my whole life, and I’m just trying to provide offense and an instant spark.”
In the past four games, Hyland averaged 20 points. He made at least three 3-pointers in each of those contests.
The Rockets hope to spoil the Timberwolves’ momentum. Houston has won two of its past three games but is coming off a 132-124 road loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
Emotions ran high during the defeat as Houston coach Ime Udoka was ejected for picking up two technical fouls. Udoka blasted the game’s officials in his postgame news conference.
The Rockets coach also criticized his players for their inconsistent performance.
“We didn’t respect the game or the opponent, and the only way they score 41 (in the first quarter) is if we’re playing the way we did on both sides,” Udoka said. “… It’s the NBA, and if you come out like that, you’re going to be inconsistent, you’re going to have bad losses. And this is another one of them.”
Kevin Durant leads the Rockets with an average of 25.9 points per game on 52% shooting. Alperen Sengun is averaging close to a double-double with 20.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, and Amen Thompson rounds out the top three scorers at 18.0 points per game.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Hyland and other players are gaining confidence by knocking off top teams such as the Celtics even though Edwards is sidelined. Finch hopes that the trend will continue on Wednesday.
“It continues to reinforce that we feel like we can beat anybody anywhere,” Finch said. “… The defense was outstanding the other night. Even when we didn’t start the game well shooting-wise, I was really happy with everything else we were doing.”
Minus Edwards, Julius Randle is the team’s top scorer at 21.0 points per game. Jaden McDaniels (14.6 points per game) and Naz Reid (13.7) are next on the list.
Edwards worked on the side as the team took part in practice Tuesday in Minneapolis. He is not available to play against Houston, and Finch indicated that Edwards’ return was not imminent. The four-time All-Star last played March 15 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“He’s on his own return-to-play protocol, so he wasn’t with us (in drills),” Finch said.
