Chris Finch Explains What Makes Jaylen Clark Valuable for Timberwolves

A 39-point win does not leave much to pick apart, but after Thursday's 133-94 blowout of the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Chris Finch wanted to talk about one of the Minnesota Timberwolves players who barely showed up in the scoring column.

Minnesota led 67-52 at halftime and pulled away with a 36-17 third quarter, opening the half on a 17-4 run that made it 84-56.

Guard Bones Hyland scored 24 points off the bench and guard LaMelo Ball had 22 points with six threes and nine assists, while guard Ayo Dosunmu added 18 and forward Jaden McDaniels finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Wolves led by as many as 44 on the way to their most lopsided win of the season.

Forward Cooper Flagg managed just 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting and only took two free throws, and Finch said keeping him off the line was huge.

Guard Jaylen Clark took his turns on Flagg too, and he ended the night with seven points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a plus-17.

"He's an outstanding defensive playmaker. He's a very good defender in his own right, but he just makes plays. He makes things happen. He goes and gets steals, he gets 50-50 balls, he gets his hands on things, he steals the inbound passes. All kinds of things as a possessions guy, and those guys are super valuable," Finch said after the game.

Finch added that the staff has pushed Clark to be much more consistent and that he has answered on both ends of the floor.

Clark has come off the bench in all 11 games he has played and is averaging 4.9 points and 0.9 steals in 14.5 minutes, so most of his value shows up in what the other team cannot do.

Forward Jonathan Kuminga also enjoyed the defensive work in this one.

Dallas shot 37% from the field and turned it over 19 times, which is how the Wolves have been winning all season, and center Rudy Gobert has already talked about this group having the top defense in the league.

They have done it shorthanded, too, with guard Anthony Edwards out after right knee surgery on Oct. 29 and guard Donte DiVincenzo out with a torn Achilles.

Even without their best scorer, the Wolves have won five straight and sit at 9-3, third in the West and a game and a half behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

Players like Clark are a big reason why.

Finch has praised his bench more than once this month, and a team missing its top scorer needs guys who can win possessions without the ball in their hands.

Ball and Hyland can handle the scoring on most nights, so Clark does not need to score much, but the Wolves do need him to keep making the hustle plays Finch listed.

Minnesota stays home for the Chicago Bulls on Saturday and then faces the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday and Tuesday at Target Center.

If Clark keeps giving Finch this type of effort, I expect his minutes to keep growing, even after Edwards gets back.