The dunk was a happy moment from what should have been a happy night for the Timberwolves, who won, 98-85, to snap a three-game losing streak and earn their fifth victory of the season. But when Timberwolves Coach Tom Thibodeau was asked whether he had taken a second look at LaVine’s dunk while reviewing the film of the Phoenix game before Minnesota faced the Golden State Warriors here Saturday night, he didn’t mask his contempt for the question or for the hoopla surrounding LaVine’s rim-rocking slam.

“I don’t get excited about stuff like that,” Thibodeau said, the words rumbling out of him in his low, gravelly voice. “I get excited about stuff that wins. . . . I hope we can get to the point where we’re talking about the things that go into winning, and get away from the sideshows.”

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It was a moment that, like LaVine’s dunk, was enjoyed by the basketball Internet as the latest example of Thibodeau — the ultimate taskmaster among NBA coaches — not having any time for fun. But, at the same time, it was a window into the renovation project he has undertaken with an exceedingly young — and equally talented —Timberwolves team.

When Thibodeau was hired to become both the coach and president of basketball operations of the Timberwolves this past spring — filling the dual roles tragically vacated by Flip Saunders when he passed away last fall — it seemed like a perfect marriage. Last season, Minnesota managed to show flashes of what it could be, including winning a game here against the 73-win Warriors in April. Minnesota also won just 29 games and finished with the 27th-ranked defense in the NBA, allowing 107.1 points per 100 possessions.

It was a predictable outcome. While the Timberwolves were brimming with talent in 2014-15 NBA rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins, 2015-16 rookie of the year Karl-Anthony Towns and a two-time reigning slam dunk champion in LaVine, the fact that all three of them were born in 1995 meant they had a lot to learn.

That was where Thibodeau, the architect of the defense of the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics and a very successful coach of the Chicago Bulls for five years, came in. Who better to whip a bunch of young talent into shape than a hard-driving disciplinarian like Thibodeau, a man known for his obsessive attention to detail?

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It was a union that led to plenty of expectations. Some might have even predicted that the young Wolves would win as many as 50 games this season (who would’ve done that?). But while Minnesota has had issues out of the gate, and now stands at 5-11 following Saturday’s 115-102 loss to the Warriors at Oracle Arena, Thibodeau said he knew what was ahead of him when he took the job in April.

“I knew where we were going into the season, and that’s why I wanted the focus to be on improvement,” he said. “When you took a hard look at the numbers and where we were, you knew there was a lot of work to be done.

“We have to close the gap. . . . When you finish 12 games out of a playoff spot and 40-something games out of first in the conference, there’s a lot of work to do. I wasn’t fooling myself going in, and as long as we’re working, I’ll be fine.”

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This Timberwolves team is in a confusing place. While the record is what it is, the underlying numbers tell a different story. Even after Saturday’s loss, Minnesota has a basically neutral point differential, and Towns, Wiggins and LaVine all look impressive, particularly offensively.

So why, exactly, has Minnesota failed to claim more wins? Two things, in particular: The Timberwolves’ defense remains an issue, and they have been routinely disastrous in third quarters.

The fact the defense is still a work in progress is understandable. While Thibodeau is a defensive wizard, it would have been a stretch to think that the Timberwolves would jump from the very bottom of the NBA into the top 10. And the fact Minnesota sat 21st in the league after Saturday’s game — a few spots better than last year — was a sign that there already had been some improvements, though certain aspects (like the team’s transition defense) remain in need of massive work.

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What isn’t understandable, however, is Minnesota getting routinely drilled in third quarters. Consider: In the third quarter alone this season, the Timberwolves are scoring 82 points per 100 possessions and are allowing a staggering 113.9. Both marks would be, by a significant margin, the worst in the NBA over a full season, and the difference between the two — meaning the Wolves are being outscored by 32 points per 100 possessions in the third quarter — is mind-boggling.

How can a team that is outscoring its opponents in each of the other three quarters — and by margins of 12.8 and 17.3 points, respectively, in the first and second — get bludgeoned every game in the third?

“I think it’s just a lack of concentration,” Towns said. “Giving us that time off at halftime, we have a lack of concentration of what we need to accomplish.”

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LaVine added, “I think it’s just our focus. We don’t come out as strong as we should. We give up points and we’re not scoring, the ball’s sticking and we just have to play like we do in the first half.”

The other obvious issue is the tendency for Towns, Wiggins and LaVine to try to win games by themselves when things start going wrong. Rather than continuing to move the ball and get open shots, as they do earlier in the game, possessions frequently end with isolation jump shots.

Not surprisingly, things tend to quickly fall apart from there.

“I feel like it’s a good and bad thing, because we’re all capable of going and getting us out of funks, and we’re trying to help the team and get us going,” LaVine said. “But sometimes we don’t need that. We need to just move the ball, and with three scorers on the team, the ball should be able to move and get open shots for all of us.”

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It’s just one in a series of examples of the Timberwolves being good enough for their potential to begin to shine through but not for a full 48 minutes. The task now for Thibodeau and his charges is to fulfill that potential for complete games.

How long that transition takes will likely determine whether the Wolves can reverse their early-season struggles and finally snap the franchise’s 12-year playoff drought, or whether the youth movement in Minnesota will have to wait one more year before success will finally take hold.