Late in the third quarter of the Timberwolves 124-81 win over Portland came a sight that hasn't been at Target Center in years — the wave.
Timberwolves romp Trail Blazers by 43, win fifth straight behind Karl-Anthony Towns' double-double
Towns finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes as the Timberwolves rolled to an easy win despite missing starters D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards.
March 8, 2022 at 3:37AM
With the Wolves cruising by 30 or more throughout the night, the crowd decided to have a little more fun than usual and even got some of the players on the bench, like Karl-Anthony Towns and Patrick Beverley, to join in.
The Wolves did what they should against a severely overmatched Portland team that was already undermanned when the teams met Saturday. Then the Trail Blazers sat Anfernee Simons, who scored 38 last time out, and the rout was on before tipoff. Portland had just 34 points at halftime and the Wolves were up 27 on their way to their easiest win of the season and their fifth straight win overall.
Towns, the reigning Western Conference player of the week, exited halfway through the third quarter with 27 points and 13 rebounds. That signaled the start of the party.
The fourth quarter turned into one of the most joyful and exuberant experiences Target Center has seen in some time. The announced crowd of 16,035 hung on every play the reserves tried to make. It went bonkers when Jake Layman and Leandro Bolmaro scored. The bench, which featured an injured Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell, couldn't help but contain their excitement.
In the end: a 43-point win, tied for second-largest margin of victory in franchise history.
"Electric," guard Josh Okogie said. "Usually when you blow a team out like that, the energy fades and people leave and try to get home. A lot of them stayed and still had the building rocking. That was fun to see."
Edwards and Russell came out wearing coats as part of their outfits. They never took them off. They knew their team wasn't going to have to sweat this one.
At one point Beverley also had a turn with a T-Shirt cannon during the fourth quarter.
"I didn't even see that. I wish I did," said center Naz Reid, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds. "I didn't know somebody would actually do that."
The fans also serenaded Layman to wish him a happy 28th birthday.
Contrast this atmosphere with the last several years in Wolves fandom. For once, the Wolves were allowed to have a party against a team that was in disarray instead of being the prey.
"When the crowd isn't really into it, it feels like an away game …" Okogie said. "Because you'd make a big play and it just feel like, you know, nothing really happened. Now you make a play and it makes you want to make a play, dive for loose balls and do the little things and little things are ultimately what leads to victories."
A crowd that has seen so much losing reveled in the chance to cheer every player on the roster.
The vibes, at last, are different.
The last time Target Center rivaled this kind of ecstasy was Feb. 8, 2020. That was just after then-President Gersson Rosas remade almost the entire roster at the trade deadline and the Wolves rolled the Clippers by 27. That felt like a new era could be dawning for the Wolves. It turned out to be a false start. A pandemic and lots of losing over the next season and a half sapped a lot of joy from the fanbase, joy that has started to return this season with the Wolves at 37-29.
There were nights this season the crowd was amped up during a close win, like against Memphis or Miami, but it was never as over-the-moon delirious as it was Monday.
"I always thought this was a tough place to play in my time in the league here," coach Chris Finch said. "It's an outstanding sports town. We just got to give them a reason to keep coming out."
Despite so-so record, Wolves have improved at crunch time.
