“That’s what you get when you have a young team,” Head coach Monty Williams said after his team’s 113-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. “But at the same time, I’m tired of saying ‘young team,’ that’s getting old.”

But where you may not find answers for the losses, reasons for hope can reside.

Rookie guard Austin Rivers had a career-best 27 points in Friday night’s loss to the Timberwolves, a total he didn’t surpass in the previous two contests combined.

 “I just went out there and tried to maintain what I’ve been doing the past 3 or 4 games, just be aggressive,” Rivers said.

“He’s starting to get some confidence, and this is what we thought he could do,” Coach Williams said of his starting shooting guard. “He scored the ball tonight from many areas. Driving the ball, knocking down threes, and it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t compliment that with a win.”

Fellow rookie Anthony Davis sees Rivers reaching his potential in the NBA.

“He’s a great player. He’s gonna be a great scorer one day, one of the best,” said Davis, who had 11 points and 7 rebounds in the loss. “When he has a slower guard or a slower big on him, (he’s) trying to pull up for the jumper, shoot the floater, to work in his advantage. He’s definitely starting to find his nitch, he’s gonna be great.”

“I just gotta go out there and be aggressive, on both ends,” said Rivers, who also posted a career high with 5-made three-pointers. “That’s been my mindset these last couple of games and going forward that’s what I’m gonna do before every game. I gotta be (the) aggressor. I want to be the aggressor every game.”

Coach Williams said every rookie takes a different career path in the NBA. And with games like tonight, Austin Rivers may just be finding his.