Three nights after they lost an early 17-point lead and the season opener at Memphis, the Timberwolves kicked away an 18-point, second-quarter lead Saturday in Sacramento and lost 106-103 due to a lopsided third quarter that peeved coach Tom Thibodeau called an “abomination.” After watching Sacramento outscore his team 31-12 in that quarter — including a 24-1 run during which the Kings scored 17 unanswered points — he deemed his team lacks toughness of all kinds. “Everything: Mental toughness, physical toughness, emotional toughness, all aspects of it,” he said afterward. “Every team has two or three primary scorers, and they’re going to put pressure on you and you have to respond. It’s not any one person’s responsibility. It’s the entire team’s. We have to get tied together and have discipline … “The third quarter was a problem, a big problem. We have to get a lot tougher. That’s what I see.” On Saturday, the Kings had veteran stars DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay — and they were plenty. Wolves big men Gorgui Dieng, Cole Aldrich and Karl-Anthony Towns used most of the fouls they had trying unsuccessfully to counter Cousins’ smash-mouth style, but his 29-point, seven-rebound performance proved decisive before he fouled out in the game’s final minutes. Gay added 28 points in a game in which the Wolves trailed by 10 points early in the fourth, tied the score three times and ultimately lost after they played the final 6½ minutes without starting point guard Ricky Rubio, who sprained his right elbow. - See more at: http://www.startribune.com/wolves-lack-toughness-all-around/399261971/
