Jaylen Nowell didn't check in to the Timberwolves' 114-112 overtime victory over Denver on Friday until there were 7 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the game.
Coach Chris Finch has said not to read too much into rotations and who's playing with whom in the preseason, but Nowell was checking in at that point of the game with what you could call the third unit — not the starters, and not the mix players who earned second-unit bench minutes throughout the night.
Nowell made the most of the minutes he got, scoring the last six points in regulation, which included a four-point play, to force overtime. Then in the extra session, Nowell won the game for the Wolves with a fadeaway jumper with 10 seconds left.
"I kind of expect to hit those type of shots," Nowell said. "Those are some of my best shots I like to shoot. So I just made sure to get to my spots and put it up."
Finch has said the Wolves are comfortable playing anyone "one through 14" on the roster, but playing 14 players a night is impractical once the regular season begins.
"Sometimes having 14 guys is a luxury, sometimes it's a headache," Finch said.
Players such as Nowell who might be toward the end of the rotation have to take advantage of the chances they get. They'll get another one Monday in their third preseason game against the Clippers in Los Angeles.
"He keeps playing like that, he's going to make it into the rotation, and maybe in a more regular manner," Finch said. "But like I said to the guys, we have a very deep team with not a lot of separation at times, and that's going to make for an extremely competitive environment over these next couple of weeks."
