Timberwolves are finally remembering what makes them great

Talk about a statement win on Friday. There has been much chatter about the Timberwolves’ inability to beat the better teams. Minnesota entered Friday night with just a 2-8 mark against teams with winning records.

So how do you quiet the detractors? By defeating the now 25-3 defending champion Thunder. In a 112-107 victory, the Timberwolves turned to their calling card from the past few seasons, which is a team that never makes it easy for the opposition when they have the ball.

Excellent effort on defense against Thunder

Seeing Anthony Edwards return on Friday after a three-game absence with a foot injury was huge for Minnesota against an elite opponent. Unsurprisingly, Ant-Man was the team’s leading scorer with 26 points.

It was an inspiring effort on defense, though, from the Timberwolves. The Thunder entered the game averaging 123 points per contest (second in the league), so they were held 16 points below that. OKC also entered with the third-best field goal accuracy at 49.6 percent, but they were held to 37 percent on Friday.

It was especially evident in the fourth quarter, one that Minnesota entered trailing by two. The Thunder shot just 6-for-24 from the field and 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, allowing the Timberwolves to complete the impressive come-from-behind victory.

The fact that Chris Finch wasn’t on the sidelines for much of this game only builds upon the narrative that Micah Nori should eventually become a head coach. Not even halfway through the first quarter, Finch was ejected for arguing a no-call on Julius Randle getting stripped at the rim. Known as a defensive mind, Nori took over the head coaching reins, and largely because of their defense, Minnesota defeated the defending champs.

Moving up the defensive rating leaderboard

Don’t look now, but once again the Timberwolves are in the top 10 in defensive rating. It has been a gradual climb to get there after not giving the normal effort on that end to begin the year. Per Cleaning the Glass, they now rank seventh at 113.3 and have the opportunity to move up further (Rockets are currently fourth at 112.3).

Minnesota has ranked in the top 10 every season since Rudy Gobert has joined them (including first in 2023-24). Now in his fourth year with the club, the Timberwolves have sometimes had their issues on defense this season when the four-time Defensive Player of the Year has been off the court. So it was inspiring to see Minnesota give up only five points over the last 2:53 on Friday after Gobert was subbed out.

With games against the top two teams by offensive rating next week (Nuggets and Knicks), defense will be the key to victory for the Timberwolves over those teams.