Wednesday night felt like the pinnacle of what has been an incredibly solid stretch for the Minnesota Timberwolves lately. After the team had won their last five games in a row and their last 10 with Julius Randle available, a big challenge awaited. The Denver Nuggets were next up on the schedule, and it would be Minnesota's first contest in the Mile High City since, you guessed it, their stunning Game 7 victory on May 19, 2024 at Ball Arena.
The Wolves entered the contest 2-0 against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets this season. When the final buzzer sounded, they emerged with a 3-0 record on the season and as winners of their last five contests against Denver in a row, dating back to last year's Western Conference semifinal series.
Minnesota looked comfortable for most of the night against an extremely solid Nuggets squad. Anthony Edwards led the way with 29 points, Julius Randle followed with 25 of his own, Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double, and Donte DiVincenzo was a team-best +23 off the bench. This was a landmark victory no matter how you slice it, and it did something very notable for this Timberwolves team: it put them back in the category of a top-level contender in the West.
Minnesota is officially one of the West's true contenders again
Now, you can say that statement is subjective, and that there is no true metric to measure whether a team is legitimate in this way. But all things considered, it certainly feels like Minnesota has reached that level once again. They had some confusing losses earlier in the season without a doubt, but wins like this along with the consistency they have displayed proves that their potential is being reached.
A postgame quote from Mike Conley makes it seem all the more that the Wolves are feeling that same vibe they brought to the court last season. "It felt similar to last year," Conley said. "Being in this building, you have to play that way to beat a team like this on the road. They’re really, really good. We just came in with an angrier mindset."
The Timberwolves' six-game winning streak is now the longest of any Western Conference team. For the season, they have recorded 27 total wins against West foes, the most of any squad in the NBA. You could say Wednesday was just another win, but it truly showed us that this team is as dangerous as they have ever been. Go ahead and ask Denver Nuggets fans if they want their team playing Minnesota in the postseason. I can assure you they want to be as far away from that matchup as possible.