**Minnesota Timberwolves at Brooklyn Nets**
**Date:** April 3rd, 2025
**Time:** 6:30 PM CDT
**Location:** Barclays Center
**Television Coverage:** FanDuel Sports Network North
**Radio Coverage:** KFAN FM/Wolves App/iHeart Radio
Well, if there’s one thing the 2024–25 Minnesota Timberwolves know how to do, it’s raise your blood pressure to dangerously unhealthy levels. Seriously. If you’ve got a heart condition, I wouldn’t recommend watching this team live. And if you _don’t_ have one yet, just give it a week.
Tuesday night’s double-overtime thriller against the Denver Nuggets? That wasn’t just a basketball game—it was a full-season arc of “Succession” crammed into 58 minutes. Twists, betrayals, ejections, a hostile takeover by Nikola Jokic (who dropped 61 points), and, in the end, a dramatic buzzer-beater… foul? Sure, why not. It had everything. Including Anthony Edwards deciding _not_ to take the game-winner and instead dishing it to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who missed the three but got the benefit of a Russell Westbrook foul. Cold-blooded. Two clutch free throws later, Wolves win. Six straight over Denver. The Nuggets’ kryptonite is wearing #5 in electric green.
So now what?
The Wolves are _tied_ with the Grizzlies for the sixth seed, but Memphis holds the tiebreaker. The Warriors and Clippers are surging. The [Lakers](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com) are stumbling around like they’re in the last 15 minutes of “The Irishman.” And Minnesota? They’re banged up, exhausted, and now hopping on a plane to play the Brooklyn Nets in under 48 hours. Welcome to NBA scheduling hell. Hope you brought your Advil.
Let’s be honest—this is a game Minnesota _has_ to win. Brooklyn is firmly in “meh” mode. They’re tanking, playing out the string, and missing Cam Johnson, one of their few floor spacers. DeAngelo Russell might play, which means revenge-game energy is very much on the table. But this is the kind of game that should tell us something. Do the Wolves have the maturity to handle business? Because Tuesday night was epic—let’s not undersell it—but if you follow that up with a lazy, uninspired loss to the 25-win Nets, it means nothing. You’d be like the guy who finally hits a jackpot on a Vegas slot machine, then immediately blows it all at the blackjack table while arguing with the pit boss.
Here’s the checklist:
### 1\. **Start Fast, No Letdowns**
The Wolves came out against Denver like they’d just rolled out of bed and realized their car was towed. Five points halfway through the first quarter. A 16-point hole. That _can’t_ happen in Brooklyn. Not when you’re the better team. Not when your entire season depends on these next six games.
### 2\. **Lock Down the Perimeter**
Brooklyn’s not exactly the 2015 Warriors, but if D-Lo plays, he’ll be chucking heat-check threes from the parking lot. Minnesota has to treat every rotation like it’s Game 7. Close out hard. Don’t sag off. Don’t let bench guys get comfortable and show off their best Obi Toppin impression.
### 3\. **Dominate the Paint**
With Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo back from suspension, the Wolves will return to their glorious, towering three-headed monster: Rudy, Randle, Naz. That’s a lot of size, a lot of muscle, and a lot of second-chance points waiting to happen. Crash the boards. Clean up garbage buckets.
### 4\. **Keep the Ball Moving**
When the Wolves play the “hero ball” game, it’s like watching a band at a jazz club who all want to take the final solo. It’s chaotic, clunky, and usually ends with someone chucking a contested jumper. But when they share it—swinging the ball around the horn, cutting off the ball, hitting open shooters—it’s beautiful. Keep doing _that_.
### 5\. **Ant and Julius: Lead the Way**
Anthony Edwards is in full supernova mode. He torched Detroit. Carried the team down the stretch in Denver. He’s hunting for those “Best 5 Guys in the League” conversations—and nights like this, against lesser teams, are where the _great_ players feast.
Randle’s been rock solid too. Twenty-six points against the Pistons. Monster boards. Playing bully ball when it matters. If he keeps making smart reads and limiting those pull-up threes, this offense stays dangerous.
So here’s the reality: Minnesota _cannot_ let up now. There are six games left. They have two against Brooklyn, matchups with tanking Philly and Utah, a huge one in Memphis, a sneaky-tricky matchup against Milwaukee. They win five or six? They’re in the six-seed. Maybe even the four. They drop a game like this? They’re back in play-in purgatory, where one bad shooting night could end your season.
The Wolves just pulled off one of the most dramatic wins of the NBA year. It’s the kind of game teams rally around. The kind of win you point to when you’re up 2-1 in the first round and the TNT panel starts saying, _“This team might be for real.”_
But first? You gotta beat the teams you’re supposed to beat.
No excuses. No hangover.
Just handle your business.
Next stop: Brooklyn.