Minnesota broke their three-game losing streak and got back on track with a 124-104 win in Indiana.
The Minnesota Timberwolves needed a bounce-back performance badly, and they got one Tuesday night in Indianapolis. Without Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota dismantled the Indiana Pacers 124-104 in a game that was never in doubt.
This was the kind of game that you want to come out and dominate from the start, and Minnesota did. The Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak and picked up just their second victory in six games heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
More importantly, they moved to the cusp of clinching a top-six seed in the West, which would mean avoiding the play-in tournament altogether.
Apr 7, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson (12) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Kam Jones (7) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesDosunmu, Randle, and Hyland Carry the Load
With Edwards sitting out on the front end of a back-to-back, Minnesota needed someone to step up. They got contributions from several directions. Ayo Dosunmu led the way with 24 points, and Julius Randle added 19 of his own.
Bones Hyland was equally productive with 19 points and seven assists, running the offense smoothly in the absence of the team's leading scorer.
Rudy Gobert didn't do much offensively but controlled the glass as usual, finishing with 12 rebounds. He very clearly doesn't need to score to impact the game, and against a Pacers team that's been one of the worst in basketball for the whole season, his presence in the paint was more than enough.
The Timberwolves built a double-digit lead late in the first quarter and never let Indiana back into it. They led 63-53 at halftime, pushed it out to 73-55 early in the third, and even when the Pacers trimmed the deficit to ten with six straight points midway through the third, Minnesota responded with a 25-5 run that made it 102-77.
What This Means for Minnesota
The Timberwolves have had a frustrating few weeks. Edwards has missed nine of their last eleven games with a bad right knee, and McDaniels has now been out for six straight with an injured left knee. Losing two of your better defenders at this point of the season is not ideal for a team that prides itself on that end of the floor.
But Tuesday was a reminder that this roster has enough depth to handle a bottom-tier opponent without its stars. Indiana is 4-22 in its last 26 games and still needs two wins just to avoid setting a franchise record for losses in a single NBA season. This wasn't a challenging test, but Minnesota still had to show up and execute, and they did.
The Timberwolves have one more game on this back-to-back Wednesday in Orlando before the regular season wraps up. Whether or not they've clinched a top-six seed by then, Tuesday's win was exactly the kind of statement this team needed to make heading into the postseason.
Show up, handle business, and do it without your best player. That's a good sign moving forward.