Timberwolves roll confidently into Denver, leave with a six-game winning streak

DENVER – Ball Arena began emptying out early in the fourth quarter Wednesday, and Denver coach Michael Malone emptied his bench with just over five minutes remaining of a wire-to-wire 115-95 Timberwolves victory over the Nuggets.

Nearly 10 months have passed since perhaps the greatest game in Wolves franchise history — their Game 7 victory in the second round of last season’s playoffs against the Nuggets.

The Wolves’ roster has changed since that night, but the confidence with which they play against Denver and in Ball Arena has not. They are 3-0 against Denver this season and have won five straight going back to last season’s playoffs.

“It felt similar to last year,” point guard Mike 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.”

But more than just anger carried them Wednesday night. They were focused, they hustled, especially on the offensive glass (29 second-chance points, 22 in the second half) and they looked more seamless than they have all season. This was their sixth consecutive win, their 11th straight when Julius Randle plays. Randle was a big reason for the win: 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists.

“He’s been such a great playmaker for us,” coach Chris Finch said. “But he has the ability to go get a bucket when we give him the ball.”

Randle scored seven of his points early in the fourth quarter as the Wolves put the game away. Anthony Edwards, who earlier this season complained about all the double-teams he was facing, looked at ease dealing with the coverages Denver was sending at him, especially in the second half. Edwards was making the right reads, especially on a pair of possessions when he found Jaden McDaniels (16 points) for left-corner threes. He said watching film of Lakers guard Luka Doncic has helped, and he’s seeing the game much better as a result. He finished with 29 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Added Finch: “It’s just a global understanding of what the defense is doing, what it’s trying to do. We thought that play was there in the first half more. He did a really good job. In the past he would’ve fought that coverage a bit, but he’s now accepting it and making all the right plays. He’s been tremendous at it.”

Wednesday was a mile-marker in the Wolves’ season; it showed how far they have come since the struggles of the first half. Randle and Donte DiVincenzo have fully acclimated after joining the team preseason, despite injuries that cost them playing time. The Wolves have not looked like this well-oiled of a machine until now.

“We came a long way in our chemistry,” center Rudy Gobert said. “I would say it really starts with Ant and Julius. The way they’ve been playing and the way they’ve been making the right play for the teammates has been having a tremendous impact for us.”

BOXSCORE: Wolves 115, Nuggets 95

NBA standings

As the Wolves got healthier the past few weeks, the fan base asked questions like, “What’s going to happen when Randle comes back?” Then it was, “What’s going to happen when Gobert gets back?” The early returns have been nothing but positive as the Wolves enter the home stretch of the season in a race to avoid the play-in tournament.

“We got a gift earlier in the year with some of the injuries, myself included, being injured a little bit, guys being in and out of the lineups, it’s given other guys opportunities to have a bigger role,” said Conley, who had eight points and five assists. “You look at Jaden and Naz [Reid], those guys are getting comfortable and confident while Julius was out.

“Donte, him being out allowed Jaylen [Clark], T.J. [Terrence Shannon Jr.] and other guys to get quality minutes. Now we’re all finding our rhythm. We’re all finding a good pace to the game.”

Now to keep up this pace the rest of the season, and when the opponent isn’t Denver.