What We’ve Learned About Timberwolves During Three-Game Win Streak

The Minnesota Timberwolves have won three games in a row, beating Milwaukee at home on Monday and then winning at Houston on Wednesday and at New Orleans on Friday.

That run has them at 7-3, tied with Golden State and Houston and one game behind the top of the Western Conference, all while guard Anthony Edwards is out after an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee.

The biggest lesson from this stretch is how Minnesota closes games, because across the three wins, the Timberwolves and their opponents were tied 239-239 after three quarters, and Minnesota won the fourth quarters by a combined 105-77.

The Wolves even trailed by two points going into the fourth in both road games and still won both.

At New Orleans, guard LaMelo Ball scored five straight points in a 10-2 run after the Pelicans took an 89-87 lead with 7:57 left, and Minnesota held the lead the rest of the way.

At Houston, forward Jonathan Kuminga hit a three and then a tip-in to help push the lead to 111-104 with about two minutes left. Good teams find ways to win close games late, and that is a big reason I believe this start is real and not just a hot week.

Losing a star like Edwards usually shows up on offense, but the defense has kept Minnesota steady, as the Wolves allowed just 105.3 points per game during the streak, and Milwaukee shot a season-worst 38.4 percent in the first win.

For the season, Minnesota ranks in the top three in the NBA in defensive rating and first in net rating, which tells me the defense was not a three-game fluke.

Center Rudy Gobert has been a big part of that, averaging 10.7 rebounds during the streak, while Kuminga had four blocks against the Bucks.

Head coach Chris Finch has noticed what Kuminga is giving them, and he did not hold back after the Milwaukee win, as ClutchPoints reported.

"We'd be lost without him right now, for sure," Finch said.

Kuminga has also talked about how this group keeps battling through injuries, and the results this week back him up.

The same five players started all three games, with Ball, guard Ayo Dosunmu, forward Jaden McDaniels, Kuminga and Gobert.

Ball averaged 25.3 points, Dosunmu added 22.0 and McDaniels chipped in 16.7, but a different bench player helped swing each game.

Forward Trey Lyles scored 12 against the Bucks, guard Bones Hyland scored 19 at Houston, and Lyles grabbed 13 rebounds at New Orleans.

Minnesota is 4-2 since Edwards went down, and that depth is what I like most, because his injury raised real questions about how this team would score without him, and so far the answer is that nobody has to do it alone.

The streak is on the line Sunday against Utah, which has lost seven straight, and that game starts an eight-game homestand.

If the Wolves keep winning fourth quarters and getting stops, they will be in great shape when Edwards returns, because adding a star back into a team that already knows how to win without him should worry the rest of the West.