After the Minnesota Timberwolves beat five teams under .500 to win five straight, Chris Finch was ready to see what his freshly energized team was capable of.
“I think this is the perfect test for us at the perfect time,” Finch told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. “Go on the road, play a really good team, and see if we can put it all together again.”
Minnesota’s five-game win streak entering Wednesday was tied for the best in the Western Conference. On Sunday, the Wolves hung a season-high 141 points on the board, but it was against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs had lost six of their previous eight and sat nine games below .500 because they have been without Victor Wembanyama since the All-Star break.
“When the ball is moving like that, and the mindset is how it was tonight, I think we have a very powerful team,” proclaimed Rudy Gobert, who made his return against the Spurs after missing ten straight games with back spasms.
It was an aesthetically pleasing win, but the Timberwolves needed a gut check against a playoff team with the postseason closing in on them. On national TV, they needed to prove that their recent success was legit by passing one of their final rigorous tests of the regular season.
Since the All-Star break, San Antonio’s defensive rating is a league-worst 122.4. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are not far ahead, holding the fourth-worst defensive rating (119.5) in that span. Still, only the surging Los Angeles Lakers have beaten the Nuggets on their home court since January 16.
Minnesota knows better than most teams that winning in Denver takes an all-around, brilliant effort, especially after its Game 7 win against the Nuggets in May. The Wolves were resilient in their 20-point comeback then, and they were resilient again on Wednesday night in their 115-95 win over the Nuggets despite never trailing.
Finch has asked his players to enter each game with the mindset that it is more important to them than their opponent, which is precisely the mindset the Wolves brought into Ball Arena on Wednesday.
BEYOND THE ARC. 🫣 pic.twitter.com/eJBR5MZJCz
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 13, 2025
Michael Malone wasted two timeouts within the first eight minutes of the first quarter, both of which were in an attempt to stop Timberwolves runs.
Malone signaled for his second timeout after Donte DiVincenzo canned a pull-up three on the Ball Arena logo in front of Denver’s bench with 4:33 left in the opening frame. Denver was trailing by ten, and a contingent of Wolves fans were howling around the arena.
Since the start of Minnesota’s win streak on March 2, they have the second-best first-quarter offensive rating (127.5) in the NBA. Starting games poorly was a bad habit the team developed early in the season. However, the Wolves’ emphasis on the importance of each game over the last month has partly helped shake that habit.
The Wolves scored 34 points in the first quarter on 13 of 26 from the floor and 5 of 12 from deep against Denver. Julius Randle was the primary catalyst in the win and sparked an energetic and fast-paced start to the game. He recorded nine of his 25 points in the first quarter and hauled in three rebounds on 3 of 4 from the floor.
Denver hung around in the first, trailing by eight points after the first 12 minutes. However, Minnesota’s mindset was clearly different than Denver’s from the jump.
“Being in this building, you have to play that way to beat a team like this on the road,” Mike Conley said postgame. “They’re really, really good. We just came in with an angrier mindset. We’re going to jump on that right away and see what we got.”
Denver pulled within four points midway through the second quarter as Minnesota’s offense tailed off, and they began settling for quick jump shots. The Wolves shot 7 of 19 from the floor in the final 12 minutes before halftime and 2 of 7 from deep. They also allowed Denver to convert seven points off of five turnovers.
“Our offense in the first half was a little wild,” Finch said postgame. “I thought there were some solutions that we should have found.”
Still, Minnesota held a nine-point lead at halftime and led for the entire first half.
The Wolves stayed disciplined in multiple ways, even when their offense momentarily failed them. Nikola Jokić had 21 points on 10 of 15 from the floor but only dished out three assists. Finch and his staff prefer to turn Jokić into a scorer while taking away his passing, and they accomplished that mission in the first half. Russell Westbrook registered 17 points. Still, aside from Westbrook and Jokić’s contributions, the rest of the Nuggets scored ten points on 3 of 22 from the floor.
Denver opened the second half on a 7-3 run, which Jamal Murray capped off by tossing a momentous lob to Christian Braun in transition. Finch smartly called a timeout as the Nuggets pulled within five points, and Ball Arena was starting to buzz.
BRAUN THROWING IT DAUN pic.twitter.com/mwiwvDdS8E
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 13, 2025
On Sunday, the Wolves had an answer for every one of San Antonio’s comeback pushes. They kept Denver at arm’s length until that point. However, the third quarter is winning time for the Nuggets, who rank first in offensive rating (124.8) in that frame.
It was prove-it time for the Wolves. They ended the final ten minutes on what turned out to be an insurmountable 29-20 run, taking their largest lead of the game (14) at that point into the fourth quarter. The Wolves outscored Denver 32-27 in the frame, shot 13 of 23 from the floor and 6 of 12 from deep, and received ten points on 4 of 8 shooting from Anthony Edwards.
Denver offered no resistance to open the fourth, and Minnesota blew it open by as many as 26 points. Fans began heading for the exits with around eight minutes remaining. Malone emptied his bench at the five-minute mark, and Wolves fans took over Ball Arena again, chanting, “LET’S GO WOLVES!”
“We are not worried what anybody else says. We are worried about what’s going on in that locker room,” DiVincenzo said postgame on FanDuel Sports North. “We hold each other accountable. We look at ourselves in the mirror. We are clicking at the right time. We have another level to get to, so that is our approach every single day.”
Minnesota aced one of its final tests of the regular season. From here on out, the Wolves have the second-easiest schedule, play nine of 15 games at home, and travel the fewest miles (6,089).
The Wolves are not concerned about the public’s perception of them. However, they are on a six-game win streak, tying them for the best in the league. They’ve put other teams on notice. This Wolves squad is far different than the team that began the season 8-10. Minnesota is healthy and playing its best basketball of the season, putting all the pieces together and clicking like never before with four-and-a-half weeks left in the regular season.