Playing on Christmas Day for just the third time in franchise history, the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up a much-needed win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Coming off three losses in a row, the Wolves dug deep and emerged victorious over a squad that has been playing some incredibly solid basketball as of late.
The story for this one revolved around Minnesota's tenacity and resilience when things started to go south. After trading blows with the Mavericks in the first half, the Timberwolves built a lead that grew to as large as 28 points in the third quarter. It looked like the road team might run away with it, but Kyrie Irving led the charge to give Dallas a fighting chance.
He scored a game-high 39 points, and Anthony Edwards even said postgame that he believes Kyrie is "the greatest point guard." But even after Dallas held Minnesota to just 15 fourth-quarter points, the Timberwolves executed down the stretch and did just enough to come out with the win.
In a situation where the Wolves desperately needed a win for multiple reasons, holding on to this lead was a bigger victory than just getting another number in the win column. It showed their ability to handle pressure against a very solid team and maintain control of the game even after getting punched in the mouth.
Minnesota beat Dallas despite being outscored by 16 in the 4Q
If I told you before the game that Minnesota would enter the fourth quarter with a lead but be outscored by 16 points in the final frame, you would likely have assumed they lost the game. And in the vast majority of times before Wednesday, you would have been correct.
According to StatHead, the Timberwolves' Christmas win represented just the fifth time in franchise history they have gone home with a win in regulation after losing the fourth quarter scoring differential by at least 16 points. The other four times that circumstance occurred were against the Indiana Pacers in 1990, at the Vancouver Grizzlies in 2001, against the Orlando Magic in 2017, and at the Houston Rockets in 2022.
Part of this outcome came about because Minnesota had built such a large lead heading into the fourth. Obviously, if they had been leading by a smaller amount, it could have much more easily resulted in a loss, given that they still allowed the Mavs to go on a big scoring run.
The play of the night that ultimately sealed the win for the Timberwolves came when Anthony Edwards drove into the lane and scored a big-time layup to turn Minnesota's two-point lead into a four-point advantage with just 18 seconds to go. It is that kind of clutch-time play, especially at the offensive end, that the Wolves need in a big way going forward.