Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell was left fuming after his young team provided so little resistance to the Clippers in a 99-79 Minnesota loss.
For the first time all season, Mitchell stepped to the dais postgame and did not ask for questions to start. He then blasted the team in a 31-second rant and left without taking questions.
"Worst game," he said. "Didn't set screens, didn't pass the ball. I didn't even recognize us at the start of the game.
"Like I told them, I wish [the media] would stop asking me questions about how good they can be. We have 25 wins. They still have to learn how to play basketball. They still got to grow up. They still got to understand, they played a team that's a real playoff team tonight. You saw what happened.
"We're not ready yet. So I wish they would stop reading the newspapers, stop talking to their friends, because we're not good enough to just show up and play. That was the worst game we've played all year."
Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who had been humming along with one of the league's best offenses since the All-Star break until they hit a wall against the Clippers. Andrew Wiggins had just seven points and six turnovers and left the game midway through the third quarter with a lacerated chin.
"[Mitchell] can say what he wants, but it just wasn't a very good game for us,'' said Zach LaVine, who was scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting. "Our offense was stagnant. We didn't make a lot of shots. We weren't physical and they were just playing better than us."
Towns was the only Wolves player to have any success. He hit his first three shots, including two 3-pointers, but grew frustrated with DeAndre Jordan's physical brand of defense and picked up a technical foul with 4 minutes to play in the half. Mitchell sat Towns for the rest of the half to let him cool off.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
