D'Angelo Russell, Timberwolves rally to edge Raptors 128-126

If there were a game that sums up the D'Angelo Russell experience, it would be Thursday's 128-126 victory over the Raptors.

There are times the Wolves can't win with him, like how he and the team were struggling through three quarters when Russell had nine points on 3-for-9 shooting.

Then there are times the Wolves can't win without him, like in the fourth quarter, when Russell had 16 points and carried the Wolves over the finish line.

That included four three-pointers in a barrage that brought the Wolves all the way back from a 14-point deficit. He also provided the winning points when he drew a foul on a rip-through move and hit two free throws with 9.9 seconds left.

O.G. Anunoby of the Raptors then missed a three-pointer from the right corner, and the Wolves finally prevailed late in a close game after two misfires against the Jazz and Nuggets earlier this week.

Even Russell knows his mercurial nature is a part of his identity.

"When I'm making shots, I mean, I've been doing it for a little while now, I can get real hot and stay hot," Russell said. "I can be cold and be real cold."

The Wolves needed him to be hot after they got in around 4 a.m. from playing late in Denver on Wednesday. Russell finished with 25 points and his performance had teammates recalling all sorts of things after the game.

Forward Kyle Anderson said Russell's performance reminded him of something Will Smith's character in "Bad Boys II" said to Martin Lawrence's character after Lawrence saved Smith from a man holding him at gunpoint. Smith screams at Lawrence, "From now on, that's how you shoot!"

"I'd say when he's knocking down shots like that, that's the Lo we know and the Lo we love," Anderson said. "That's big time. That's what we need from him. I expect that from him every time we step onto the floor."

There was Jaden McDaniels who seemed to recall seeing Russell in person pull off something like this when Russell was with the Nets.

"It's kind of like Brooklyn D-Lo," McDaniels said. "I remember when I was in high school and I watched him play one time. Tonight reminded me of that from D-Lo."

It's also a reminder that the Wolves don't always get this from Russell and that's what can frustrate fans. But when Russell plays like this, it raises the ceiling on what the Wolves can accomplish. There was one important reason why Russell was able to have the night he did, coach Chris Finch said.

"The key is allowing others to create his shots for him," Finch said. "Whenever that's happened, he's shot the ball really well. It's not having to go and try to create all his own offense."

He had some help from Anderson, who steadied the ship for the first three quarters as the Wolves struggled to find a defensive rhythm. Anderson finished with 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting with 10 rebounds and six assists.

They also don't win without McDaniels, who did his usual solid job defensively while scoring 16 points. He and Anthony Edwards (23 points, 5-for-16), who Finch said was "special" defensively on the ball, keyed a fourth quarter in which the Wolves allowed just 17 points after giving up no fewer than 33 the other three quarters.

That all made room for Russell's heroics, which come around just enough to remind fans how good he can be, but never as often as most would like.

"I know how the basketball gods are kind of up and down," Russell said. "You just got to take advantage of it when it's working."