Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was considering subbing everyone out with Minnesota trailing by 19 points with fewer than seven minutes to play Monday in Oklahoma City.
The Wolves and Thunder had just played 22 hours earlier in Minneapolis. Anthony Edwards was already on the bench with a lower leg ailment and there had been little to suggest anything good was on the horizon in the coming minutes for Minnesota against the top team in the West.
But then Terrence Shannon Jr. got an and-1 to trim the deficit to 16 points, and Finch figured he’d ride it out just a while longer to see where the game went.
Then history unfolded in front of him.
Left for dead for most of the evening, Minnesota went on a frantic rally late with Edwards on the bench, going on a 16-0 run over the final 3 minutes, 41 seconds of regulation to knot the game with 11.9 seconds to play on a Jaden McDaniels and-1 rim attack.
Minnesota stymied Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on his attempt to win the game on Oklahoma City’s ensuing possession, and off to overtime the game went.
And Minnesota found a way to finish the job in the extra session, toppling the Thunder 131-128.
The highlight came near the conclusion. Leading by one in the closing seconds of the extra session, Gilgeous-Alexander got to the rack and went up for a layup that would’ve put the Thunder back in front. But waiting for him was Edwards, who was reinserted into the contest with just a couple of minutes to play in overtime. Edwards rose up and swatted the ball away, and Minnesota collected the loose ball.
McDaniels told reporters the play reminded him of Edwards’ game-winning block in Indiana last season.
“I told him the play before, let’s go use our athleticism,” McDaniels told reporters. “I didn’t even know he was hurt. But he did it. I was like, ‘Alright.’ ”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit a pair of free throws on the other end, Gilgeous-Alexander’s final 3-point look to try to tie the game clanked off the iron in the closing seconds, and Minnesota’s improbable comeback was complete, with the Wolves toppling the top team in the West.
The Wolves trailed by as many as 25 points in the third quarter. The rally tied Minnesota’s franchise record for largest comeback win in Timberwolves history.
“The team fights. It always has,” Wolves coach Chris Finch told reporters. “It doesn’t always play the prettiest basketball, but it’s been fighting for a long, long time.”
But the manner in which it occurred was more stunning than the volume of the deficit. Minnesota’s only lead in regulation was 8-6. Gilgeous-Alexander was dominant for much of the bout, as the MVP front runner had 39 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
But Minnesota sold out down the stretch to get the ball out of his hands, utilizing a zone to swarm the guard near the top of the floor, and no one else on the Thunder could hit shots when called upon.
“We didn’t want to start the game that way (defensively), just because we figured they’d be ready for it. But when we got down big … we just kept coming to get him as early as possible and not let him get into anything. That was really key,” Finch said. “From there, sometimes when other players haven’t been involved in the game very much, it’s hard for them to rise up and make shots down the stretch. We took that bet, and that’s what happened.”
Still, the deficit appeared too large for the Wolves to overcome. But Shannon Jr. hit a couple of free throws. Then Naz Reid reeled off five straight points. Then Rob Dillingham had a rim attack. Then McDaniels was hyper-aggressive attacking the cup in the final minute of regulation, scoring five points when Minnesota needed it most.
“One possession at a time, didn’t worry about what the result was,” Alexander-Walker said during the postgame television interview. “Just kept chipping away.”
In the overtime, Reid was the hero. With fewer than 30 seconds to play in the extra session and the Wolves down by one, the big man grabbed an errant shot from Edwards and drew a foul on his putback attempt. He hit both free throws to give Minnesota an edge it never gave back.
Reid finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds on a night where he struggled for the first three quarters. McDaniels finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Shannon Jr. had 17 points, including 10 in the fourth stanza, and 10 rebounds. Alexander-Walker had 21 points, including four in overtime.
“The guys off the bench were phenomenal. They were just what we needed,” Finch said. “It was clear at times we were a little empty in the gas tank and couldn’t get anything established. But the rhythm of the game changed when the guys off the bench brought it up.”
Edwards, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, was asked about the comeback in an on-court, postgame interview.
“Ask them,” he said, pointing to his teammates. “Them boys played they butt off.”
On a night where Minnesota badly needed it. The Wolves just fell to the Thunder (46-11) in Minneapolis on Sunday, their fourth loss in five games. Your record doesn’t care how banged up you are. In a fight to improve its playoff positioning, Minnesota (32-27) needs wins.
It pulled one out of nowhere on Monday.
“It felt good just coming back from however much we was down,” McDaniels said in the postgame television interview. “All the young guys, everybody contributed, and this was a good team win.”
“Them boys keep playing like that,” Edwards said, “we going to be hard to beat.”
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr., right, looks to shoot over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
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