Timberwolves coach Chris Finch saw a clear silver lining in Mike Conley sitting out Wednesday’s win over Toronto, beyond the 36-year-old getting some well-deserved rest.

Conley’s absence meant more run for Monte Morris.

Conley is obviously the floor general for the Timberwolves. And Jordan McLaughlin’s emergence has created a few lineup combinations Finch simply has to get to on a nightly basis.

That’s meant fewer minutes for Morris, who has been very good since his trade deadline acquisition.

“He’s been playing great, but just the opportunity hasn’t been there,” Finch said. “So just getting him out there with different guys, it was good to see.”

And Morris took full advantage. In 25 minutes, Morris finished with 13 points — on the strength of three triples — five assists, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal. The Wolves outscored Toronto by 30 points when the veteran point guard was in the game.

It was exactly the type of performance the Wolves wanted to see from a guard they know they’ll need at the end of the regular season and beyond.

Finch has noted on countless occasions that the Timberwolves need “low-usage, high-impact guys” to fill out their talented roster. Players who don’t need the ball in their hands, but when they get it, they’ll make something happen.

If anything, Finch would like to see Morris be more aggressive with his offense early in possessions. Morris is still finding the necessary comfort to call his own number.

“We’ve got a lot of talented guys, so I’ve got to keep finding ways, little play calls to stay into the flow of the game,” Morris said. “(Wednesday) I called a few. Even if I wasn’t shooting it, it just gave me a feel for the game. Early on, I was deferring a lot and trying to find my way but getting lost in the sauce, just because I wasn’t being aggressive. I’ve got to implement myself more into the game, whether that’s defense, rebounding, things like that. It’s been tough trying to find that flow. But I think I’ve found it a little bit.”

It’s not easy to join any team in the middle of a season, let alone one that’s rolling. Morris is used to playing on championship-caliber teams dating back to his days in Denver, but finding ways to insert yourself into something that’s already so good is a challenge. The last thing you want to be is a disruption.

“You’re No. 1 (in the West) and you’re coming in to try and find your niche,” Morris said. “It takes time. I just gotta keep trusting everything, keep trusting my work, getting in there every day and just keep working.”

Morris said the final six games of the regular season will be “big” for him getting ready for the playoffs.

“I know I’ve played in big playoff games, so I know the rhythm you need to be in going into that,” Morris said. “So I have to be more aggressive on that (offensive) end just so when the playoffs do come I’m in good rhythm and ready to go.”

His teammates are all for it.

“He can really shoot the ball, and we need that,” star guard Anthony Edwards said. “Especially him and J-Mac, they shoot the ball really well. So I just tell him, ‘Trust it. If you open, let it fly. Don’t think about it.’ ”

It’s still a work in progress, but Morris is getting there.

“I feel like I’m handling it the best way possible. (On Wednesday), Mike didn’t play, so it was an opportunity. I didn’t want the opportunity to slip. I wanted to leave this arena, whether I made or missed shots, just in a better feel and more confident with myself,” Morris said. “I just know being around the league, opportunities don’t come like that a lot. I just wanted to show I’m able to play, when my number is called, a lot more minutes.”

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Marc-Andre Fleury still isn’t sure he will play again next season, but the Wild goaltender acknowledged Thursday he is more open to the idea than he was during fall camp.

It’s not difficult to see why.

“He’s still pretty good, isn’t he?” Wild general manager Bill Guerin told reporters on March 8, the NHL’s trade deadline this season.

Although he turned 39 last November, Fleury is still flashing the passion, raw athleticism and lightning reflexes that have moved him into second place in career wins for an NHL goalie, and made him one of only four to play 1,000 games — milestones cemented in this, his 20th, season.

“I always said that I would decide at the end of the season, but I felt like earlier, we were starting camp and all that, and I thought ‘This might be it,’ ” Fleury said. “Then I started feeling a little better, started having more fun.”

On Tuesday, Fleury stopped 30 shots in a 3-2 victory over Ottawa, improving to 11-4-3 since Jan. 6. And if you take out 26 minutes in a 6-0 loss at Los Angeles on March 20, Fleury is 11-3-3 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in 19 appearances.

Certainly Fleury has nothing left to prove. He has been part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in Pittsburgh, and helped expansion franchise Vegas win two Western Conference titles in four seasons. On Jan. 15, he passed Patrick Roy for second all time in wins by a goaltender with No. 552, shortly after joining wins leader Martin Brodeur, Roy and Roberto Luongo as the only goaltenders to play in 1,000 NHL games.

Playing in the final season of a two-year, $7 million contract extension, Fleury has been the Wild’s best goaltender. And after 20 years, he still approaches every game, and just about every practice, with visible enthusiasm.

“I do. I do,” he said. “But I don’t want to be the old guy that plays one too many. You know what I mean? That’s scary, too, I feel like. I don’t want to be a nuisance to the team, I want to help — and that’s when it feels better, too.”

It was generally assumed that Fleury, having reached his milestones and perhaps played in his 18th postseason, would retire after this season. Then the Wild would promote prospect Jesper Wallstedt to back up Filip Gustavsson, who earned a three-year, $11.25 million extension after being the NHL’s second-best goaltender in 2022-23.

If Fleury decides to continue playing, and Guerin decides he wants him for another year, it complicates what was once a simple plan for next season’s goaltending — although another season in the American Hockey League isn’t unreasonable for Wallstedt, who turns 22 on Nov. 14.

Asked last month how he would navigate trying to re-sign Fleury, Guerin said, “Very carefully.”

Fleury has a young family and is loath to move them for the fourth time since 2021. They like it here, he said. But he also stopped short of saying that it’s Minnesota or bust. Assuming he would only play for the Wild next season is “maybe a little overstated,” he said.

“But ideally, yeah,” he quickly added. “Not moving schools, not moving houses again and all that (would be) nice.”

While Fleury remains one of the NHL’s most athletic goaltenders, gloving slap shots and stacking pads the way he did for 14 years in Pittsburgh, he acknowledged after Thursday’s morning skate that it took a little longer for him to get up to speed in the fall.

He also said that wouldn’t necessarily convince him to retire, adding, “I know what to expect, right? So, maybe.”

The Wild’s game against Colorado on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center is the first of nine remaining regular-season games, with Minnesota eight points out of a wild-card spot. But the Wild are 31-18-6 since John Hynes became the coach on Nov. 28, and he’s been riding Fleury down the stretch.

“It’s still fun,” Fleury said. “I love winning, that feeling you get from winning and contributing. It’s good. It feels good inside.”

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A man fatally shot in St. Paul was a 41-year-old who loved traveling and being with his children and family, his longtime partner said Thursday.

Robert James Brown, of St. Paul, was shot in the Frogtown neighborhood before 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Robert James Brown (Courtesy of the family)

Police responded to multiple 911 callers reporting shots fired near Lafond Avenue and Grotto Street. Someone took Brown to Regions Hospital in a private vehicle and he was pronounced dead soon after, police said.

No one was under arrest as of Thursday afternoon. Police have asked witnesses to come forward and his family is requesting the same as they seek justice, said Ashly Saari, who said Brown referred to her as his life partner.

Brown grew up in Frogtown. He enjoyed all things sports, especially the Minnesota Vikings.

“He loved coaching both football and basketball, which turned into lifelong mentorships with many of the kids,” said Saari, who remembered him as a devoted dad.

Brown, who was known as Rob, was the kind of person who would embrace everyone as family, his brother said.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact them at 651-266-5650.

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