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Jimmy Butler Knows The Wolves Can Only Control What They Can Control

The Wolves are familiar with do-or-die games.

How quickly we’ve forgotten Game 82 when the Wolves beat the Nuggets in overtime to advance to their first postseason appearance since 2004.

But Wolves wing Jimmy Butler doesn’t think that game and tonight’s Game 5, with the Wolves down 3-1, have much in common.

“We’re in a totally different environment and situation right now,” Butler said after Wednesday’s shootaround. “We just got to go out there and play basketball. Down 3-1 . . . If we do what we’re supposed to do, we can win this game.”

Houston is a tricky team loaded with weapons. Even if you stop James Harden (like the Wolves did in Game 2), that doesn’t guarantee anything. The Wolves still need to do all of the little things if they plan on playing another game this season and sending the series back to Target Center.

 “Contesting their shots. Guarding to the best of our ability and not putting them at the free-throw line. I think whenever you do that you give yourselves a great chance to win against those guys,” Butler said. “Obviously, they have a lot of great scorers who can put the ball in the basket, but all we got to do is put bodies on bodies and contest shots and see where we end up.”

Tipoff from the Toyota Center in Houston is set for 8:30 p.m. CT on Fox Sports North, TNT and 102.9 Buz’n FM.