Two days after ending their three-game losing streak, the Minnesota Timberwolves looked to be right back to their same old struggles. The Wolves built a lead that grew to as large as 10 points in the first half, leading by five at the break. But in the third quarter, that lead quickly dissolved and the Houston Rockets went up by 16 points in the second half.
It seemed that we would be heading toward another dismal postgame, with Minnesota once again allowing a second half run from their opponents that would ultimately doom them. But then late in the fourth quarter, everything changed.
The game completely turned with the Timberwolves down 104-90 with 5:22 left in the fourth quarter. That was when Julius Randle stepped out of bounds, causing a dead ball turnover. With a pause in the action, Chris Finch opted to sub out Rudy Gobert and insert Naz Reid in his place.
It was this decision that would turn the game around completely. Finch spoke earlier in the week about how he remained open to starting lineup changes, but also wanted to tinker with things throughout the game as well. "Everything’s always on the table, for sure," he said. "But also we need to keep looking at lineup combinations as the game goes on, too."
Inserting Reid for Gobert was a game-changer
He put his money where his mouth is with this decision to close with Naz Reid over his starting center. In the end, having Naz on the floor completely changed Minnesota's outlook over those final five-plus minutes. The possession after he subbed in, Alperen Sengun scored on Anthony Edwards to give Houston their largest lead of the night. But from there, the Timberwolves would go on a 23-6 run to close the game.
Reid's impact on the game was evident from the start. Minnesota started off their scoring run to close the game with a Nickeil Alexander-Walker three that came off a drive to the bucket by Naz. From there, Reid would score nine points in the final frame including a follow-up layup off his own miss to put the Wolves within five. Naz would foul out with 1:09 remaining, but he more than left his mark on this game.
What was perhaps even more impressive than Reid's play was the fact that the Timberwolves were able to complete the comeback even after he left the floor and Jaden McDaniels replaced him. This team's depth can still be surprising at times, with neither Mike Conley nor Rudy Gobert seeing the floor for the final five-plus minutes.
Anthony Edwards' step-back three-pointer with 23 seconds left capped off Minnesota's comeback, and gave them probably the gutsiest win of their entire season. Ideally, this kind of total team effort with their backs against the wall will give this team something of a spark they can retain going forward.