With the clock running down in a tie game against the Thunder on March 11, Andrew Wiggins drove down the right side of the lane. Drawing defenders, he rifled the ball out to Ricky Rubio behind the three-point line. Rubio, wide open, hit, giving the Wolves their first win in Oklahoma City since 2008.
Three days later in Phoenix, the Wolves down two very late, Wiggins almost effortlessly got to the rim and scored, despite an apparent foul by Alex Len, to tie the score with 4 seconds left, only to have Mirza Teletovic's parabolic three-pointer spoil a happy ending.
And, then, Monday: With the Wolves down two at home to Golden State, Wiggins took an 18-foot turnaround with 15 seconds left that came up short.
These are the three most recent examples that Wiggins, the team's go-to fourth-quarter guy much of the season, now has even more on his plate. Interim coach Sam Mitchell has made a point of putting the ball in Wiggins' hands in late-game, crunch-time situations and asking him to make a play.
"I accepted it," Wiggins said of the role, which doesn't necessarily mean that he is asked simply to take an important final shot. Mitchell and his staff want Wiggins to use his ability to get to the rim to force defenses to make a decision. Then it's up to Wiggins to do the right thing.
"It's a role I want," he continued. "The coach and everybody trusts me to make plays down the stretch. I enjoy it."
It doesn't always work out. Monday Wiggins probably didn't need to take such a low-percentage, contested shot with several seconds left on the shot clock.
"It wasn't the best shot," he said afterward, "I was just confident I was going to make it."