Through 25 games, the Minnesota Timberwolves are sixth in the West with a 16-9 record. The record probably should be even better, but back-to-back late meltdowns against the Suns and Kings on November 21 and 24 are listed in the L column.
They saw recent late leads in the fourth quarter against the Clippers and Warriors vanish (although they did find a way to win both). The narrative surrounding the Timberwolves is that you need to hold your breath and can’t relax in the fourth quarter when they hold the lead. Despite this, Minnesota actually leads the league in clutch field goal percentage.
Anthony Edwards has been especially efficient
An NBA game is defined as being in the clutch when during the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, the margin is within 5 points.
Minnesota has played in 12 games that meet that criteria. In the clutch, the club is shooting an impressive 53.0 percent from the field. That leads the NBA, with the Celtics just a little behind at 52.5 percent.
When the Wolves don’t turn it over and get shots, they run good clutch time offense https://t.co/DfhLVVxijP
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) December 13, 2025
In clutch-time situations, Anthony Edwards has shot 16-24 overall (5-9 on threes). Ant-Man has attempted almost 30% of the Wolves’ shots in the clutch. Other players who have been efficient when the game is tight are Jaden McDaniels (6-11), Rudy Gobert (8-10), and Mike Conley (2-2).
Turnovers have been the major issue
So with the Timberwolves leading in that clutch category, it may seem confusing as to why the blown leads have occurred. Well, the easiest answer to that is the difficulty they have shown in taking care of the ball.
Their 1.8 turnovers per contest in games defined as clutch are the most in the league. Per 48 minutes, the Timberwolves average a whopping 21.8 turnovers in the clutch. The next highest are the Clippers with 18.3 turnovers per 48.
In the aforementioned Suns game, Minnesota held an eight-point lead with less than a minute left. The Wolves were outscored 9-0 after and committed three turnovers.
Against the Kings two days later, the Timberwolves were up 10 with less than three minutes remaining. A bad pass by Donte DiVincenzo with 35 seconds left resulted in DeMar DeRozan being fouled. His two free throws tied it, and the game went into overtime. Minnesota turned it over four more times in the extra five-minute frame.
The Timberwolves are mostly getting the shots they want in close games. The lack of taking care of the ball has been the issue. Minnesota is middle of the pack in overall turnovers with the 15th-most at 14.9 per outing.