Timberwolves Notes: Dillingham, Clark, Finch, Alexander-Walker, Ingles

A trio of little-used players helped the Timberwolves pick up a win Thursday night at Utah, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. With three members of the rotation unavailable, Rob Dillingham, Jaylen Clark and Luka Garza stepped in to fill the void. Dillingham, a lottery pick last summer, turned in one of the best games of his career with 19 points and eight assists while shooting 8-of-11 from the field.

“There was really no figuring it out,” he said of the team’s changing lineups. “We work out every day together. We get ready to play together. Them guys put in the work, even though they don’t get to show it all the time. They put in the work.”

Clark, a two-way guard who was appearing in just his sixth game, saw significant minutes off the bench for the second straight night. He was selected with the 53rd pick in the 2023 draft, but missed all of last season due to a ruptured Achilles. He won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors at UCLA, and the Wolves believe he could have a future as a defensive specialist.

“He’s got a maturity that we could use,” coach Chris Finch said. “Just felt like he deserved a chance. Been thinking that way for a little while, and Wednesday [against Phoenix] was certainly an opportunity to do it.”

There’s more on the Timberwolves:

• Finch received the first ejection of his coaching career on Wednesday and Anthony Edwards had to separate him from referee C.J. Washington before he left the court, Hine adds in a separate story. His players said Finch was in a confrontational mood all day after Monday’s lethargic effort against a short-handed Atlanta team. “I think he went to sleep last night with violence on his mind, and you know how you go to sleep with something on your mind and you’re hoping when you wake up — I don’t think his sleep was good enough,” Edwards said. “The way he did us in film today, particularly me, it was a tough day for us.”
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker was able to play 25 minutes on Wednesday, even though he had to be helped off the court Monday after suffering a lower leg contusion. With Donte DiVincenzo already sidelined, Alexander-Walker knew he had to be ready, notes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Everything I’ve been through in my career, playing, not playing, every time I can play I don’t want to miss that,” he said.
• Joe Ingles, who signed with Minnesota as a free agent last summer, remains a popular figure in Utah, where he played the first eight seasons of his career, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. With Thursday’s game well out of hand, fans chanted for Ingles to be inserted, which he was for the final 3:51. The 37-year-old forward has made 10 brief appearances this season and has yet to score.