The Timberwolves may have to secure all of their playoff victories within the first 40 minutes of such contests. That’s because the late-game struggles that continue to trip them up have proven to be far more than happenstance.

That’s what cost the Wolves again Sunday in their 89-88 home defeat to the Clippers. In its current seven-game homestand, which wraps Monday against Portland, Minnesota has dropped all three games against playoff-quality opponents: Milwaukee, Sacramento and now Los Angeles.

The last two, specifically, were there for the taking. Minnesota simply continues to not have the answer for those situations. The Wolves went 4 for 11 from the field in clutch time Sunday.

When they needed a basket late, they couldn’t find one. Minnesota had consecutive possessions in the final minute in which it needed a bucket to take the lead. Anthony Edwards missed a 3-point attempt, and Karl-Anthony Towns missed a runner on the baseline.

The latter miss left Minnesota in a situation where it had to foul. Kawhi Leonard made a pair of free throws at the other end, leaving the Wolves — who led by as many as 16 in the first quarter — trailing 99-96 with 13 seconds to play.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told his players a quick two-point basket was an option, given the Wolves still had a timeout.

“I thought we had the quick two, the catch-and-go quick two. We had the pull-behind, and then we had some outlets for three. We had another timeout, so the quick two would’ve set us up there. Foul again, and then advance the ball. That was ideal,” Finch said. “But that didn’t happen.”

What instead happened was Towns and Edwards passing the ball back and forth on the perimeter against defenders who refused to give up a 3-point attempt. Finally, Edwards made a move to the bucket. He looked back for Towns, but the sharpshooting big man’s defender wasn’t going to leave his side.

So Edwards took the free dunk. The problem was, there were only three seconds to play at that point. The Clippers (39-20) inbounded the ball and Minnesota (42-19) couldn’t get a foul before the clock expired.

Ballgame.

“Yeah, it was too late. I didn’t know it was three seconds left when I took the two,” Edwards said. “I would’ve just tried the step-back and take the three (had I known).”

Add it to the list of Minnesota’s late-game mental errors alongside shoddy shot selection and baffling fouls. You can either laugh or cry at this point. Kyle Anderson chose the former.

“We’re getting it all out of the way right now. Playoffs is gonna be great, and down the stretch (of the season),” Anderson said. “We’re still a young team. People forget we got a lot of young guys out there. Of course, we got to grow up and figure it out. I think we will, just learn from our mistakes.”

But those mistakes are happening again, and again, and again. They’ve plagued Minnesota for three seasons now, torpedoing countless regular-season contests and, eventually, playoff series.

There’s little to suggest Minnesota isn’t heading down a similar road this season. Minnesota was again elite defensively. Leonard finished with 32 points, but the Clippers shot just 38 percent from the floor and 29 percent from deep.

Yet somehow the Wolves were worse. They shot 39 percent from the floor and just 27 percent from beyond the arc. Still, even just one more late bucket could’ve absolved the offense of all wrongdoing. It didn’t come. For this team, it rarely does.

Since Dec. 20, the Wolves own the NBA’s worst clutch-time offense, scoring just 94.6 points per 100 possessions. They’re getting outscored by 23.8 points per 100 clutch possessions in that span. Clutch time is when the game is within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime — also known as winning time.

Currently, for the Wolves, it’s losing time.

Losses over the last month and a half to the Clippers, Kings, Bulls, Magic, Spurs and Hornets raise red flags. Minnesota’s last real late-game victory came in Oklahoma City on Jan. 29. The team’s general success has largely covered up such concerns to this point.

But it’s reached the point where the clutch-time conundrum has officially put the team’s chances for the No. 1 seed in the West in jeopardy. And there’s little evidence of change coming around the corner.

The unseasonable warmth enjoyed by Twin Cities residents on Sunday afternoon broke a pair of temperature records, officials say.

The mercury at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reached 74 degrees, breaking the record high for this date of 65 set in 1905, according to the National Weather Service.

It also marked the earliest the metro has topped the 70-degree mark since record keeping began. The previous titleholder was March 5, 2000, when the high temperature reached 72 degrees.

Record highs were also recorded in Eau Claire and St. Cloud, the NWS said.

Record highs have been set again today in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Eau Claire. Eau Claire and St. Cloud reached 70 degrees today, and the Twin Cities rose to 74 degrees. In addition, this was the earliest 70 degree temperature on record for all 3 sites. #mnwx #wiwx

— NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) March 3, 2024

The historically warm start to March follows the metro’s hottest meteorological winter on record, with an average temperature of 29.9 degrees. The previous record was 29.0 degrees, set in the winter that spanned 1877 and 1878.

Temperatures are expected to moderate for the rest of this week, with highs forecast in the upper 40s and low 50s, according to the NWS.

A little rain and snow are possible in the morning and early afternoon on Monday, with another chance of precipitation toward the end of the week.

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Chicago Bears guard Nate Davis paid $2.3 million in May for a five-bedroom, 5,537-square-foot house in Highland Park.

A Virginia native who previously had played for the Tennessee Titans, Davis signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Bears in March. He battled injuries in his first year with the team, including missing four games later in the season with a high ankle sprain.

Built in 2003 and designed by Evanston architect Michael Hershenson, Davis’ new house has five bathrooms, three fireplaces, a kitchen with a butler’s pantry, a family room with built-ins and a wall of windows and a wood-paneled study on the first floor. Other features include a four-season sunroom that offers ravine views and a primary suite with a second office, a private screened porch, dual custom walk-in closets and heated floors.

Downstairs on the lower level, the house has a game room, a kitchenette and a fitness room.

The house sits on a 1.28-acre property and is accessed via a wooded private drive.

The agent who represented Davis, Paul Gorney of eXp Realty, could not be reached for comment.

The house had a $52,785 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance writer.

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The Chicago Cubs needed to find reinforcements for the bullpen.

Acquiring a reliever with a consistent track record was particularly important — and something they finally addressed Saturday.

The Cubs and veteran reliever Héctor Neris have agreed to a one-year, $9 million deal that includes a $9 million team option for 2025, a source told the Tribune. Neris’ club option converts to a player option if the right-hander appears in 60 games, a mark he has hit each of the last three years and six of eight seasons excluding the shortened 2020 season. His contract ultimately can max out at $23.25 million with incentives.

Bringing in Neris addresses key needs in the bullpen. He brings durability, pitching in at least 70 games five times, and gives the Cubs a proven, back-end-of-the-pen reliever who has experience pitching in big games. The Cubs bullpen struggled down the stretch en route to missing the 2023 postseason as an inexperienced group wore down and battled injuries in September.

Neris, 34, owns a career 3.24 ERA over 546 big-league appearances coming off two seasons in Houston, including a World Series title in 2022. He also spent eight years with the Philadelphia Phillies. Primarily used in the seventh and eighth innings with the Astros, Neris also has experience closing, earning five saves in Houston and 84 with the Phillies.

Neris gives the Cubs another splitter in the bullpen to accompany right-hander Mark Leiter Jr., whose pitch has been a shutdown weapon versus lefties. Neris utilizes his splitter against righties and lefties, a pitch that generated a 42.2 Whiff% and .237 slugging percentage in 2023.

While he typically relies on a four-seam fastball and splitter combination opposing left-handed hitters, Neris also mixes a sinker and slider when facing right-handed batters. His average fastball velocity dropped by 1.3 mph from 2022 to 2023, but this deal indicates the Cubs are not significantly concerned with that.

The Cubs’ work on building a more proven bullpen should not be complete with the Neris acquisition. They still need more depth and ideally another postseason-tested reliever.

And with Cody Bellinger among the notable position players still available in free agency, the Cubs are capable of making significant roster improvements in the coming weeks.

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