Sixers come close to snapping 10-game skid, but Timberwolves hand them another tank-friendly loss

Unlike in previous games, there was no exodus from the Wells Fargo Center after the third quarter.

This time, fans were treated to an entertaining and competitive contest. But the once-proud franchise that’s now fully committed to tanking the season eventually got their wish.

Their much-needed 114-109 loss to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves was the 76ers’ 11th straight and 28th loss in 32 games.

» READ MORE: The Big Three couldn’t stay healthy. Warnings signs were there for the Sixers since preseason.

Unlike several of their previous defeats, this contest had some intrigue. The Sixers kept battling back from a few deficits and even held the lead in the fourth quarter.

But the Timberwolves responded with a 12-0 run that put them up at 97-87 with six minutes and six seconds remaining. Some fans started heading for the exits as three-time All-Star Anthony Edwards capped the run with a pair of foul shots.

The Sixers still didn’t throw in the towel. Thanks to a 13-3 run of their own, they closed the gap to 104-103 with 1:45 to play.

But Edwards responded with a three-pointer and a jumper on consecutive possessions to give Minnesota a 109-103 advantage with 59.1 seconds left.

Still, the Sixers refused to quit.

Quentin Grimes buried his sixth three-pointer with 31.9 seconds left to pull the Sixers within two points.

But Edwards all but put the game out of reach with a 25-foot three-pointer before the shot clock expired to make it a 114-109 game with 7.3 seconds remaining.

He then grabbed a Guerchon Yabusele three-point miss on the ensuing possession and dribbled out the clock. The shooting guard scored 18 of his game-high 37 points in the fourth quarter.

“We tried different things with him the whole night,” Yabusele said. “He was just getting big shots. That’s who he is, an All-Star as a player. So we were just trying to bug him as much as possible.... But you know he hit a big shot against two players with [right before the shot clock]. You know, it happens. That’s basketball.

“This is the best sport for me and this is the best league. So you are going to have type. It is what it is. We got to understand that we gave everything.”

Three-time NBA All-Star Rudy Gobert, who finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds, also led the Timberwolves (46-32).

Grimes, Yabusele, Lonnie Walker IV, and Jared Butler provided a balanced attack for the Sixers.

Grimes finished with 28 points. Yabusele added 19 points. Walker had 18 points off the bench, while Butler finished with 16 points and a game-high eight assists.

The loss dropped the Sixers to 23-55 and gave them a 2 ½-game cushion over the Brooklyn Nets for the league’s fifth-worst record with four games remaining.

But this hasn’t been the season that Sixers coach Nick Nurse and anyone for that matter, envisioned. Nurse expected to contend for an NBA title this season – not for a better position in the reverse standings. But injuries to key players led to struggles, leading to the team’s decision to tank.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch feels for his longtime friend.

“It’s always extremely hard,” Finch said. “Knowing, of course, how hard it is to get to wins in this business, just generally when you are at full stretch, and you have all the wind at your back, it’s still hard. You know, we’ve talked. We’ve texted. He’s a fighter, super resourceful. He’s going to try everything he possibly can.

“I think just not having clarity of what your team is going to look like night to night as a coach is probably the hardest thing just because it just makes planning and pivoting. You can really plan and you have to pivot.”

But with eight of their regular rotation players sidelined, the creative Nurse has an impossible task. The Sixers have been doomed late in games due to a significant talent disparity during recent games, especially Saturday against Minnesota.

The Timberwolves headed into the contest with the same record as Western Conference foes Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. Due to tiebreakers, Minnesota was in sixth place, while the Clippers were seventh, and the Grizzlies were eighth.

The top six teams after the season automatically advance to the playoffs. Meanwhile, the seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and 10th-place teams must compete in the NBA Play-In Tournament for the final two postseason berths.

So this was a must-win game for Minnesota to stay ahead of Los Angeles and Memphis. And the Timberwolves went with their normal starting lineup of Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Gobert, Edwards, and Mike Conley. The Sixers threw out a lineup of Justin Edwards, Yabusele, Adem Bona, Grimes, and Butler.

Walker, Ricky Council IV, Colin Castleton, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Marcus Bagley, who signed his second 10-day contract on Saturday, were the other available players. Edwards, who suffered a rib contusion, could not play after intermission.

The Sixers will travel to Miami on Sunday to face the Heat on Monday night at the Kaseya Center. Miami fell to 35-43 with Saturday’s 121-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Miami won this season’s three meetings against the Sixers.