In one of the Wolves’ practices at Mayo Clinic Square leading up to their current four-game road trip, Malik Beasley was asked about the worthy opponents his team would face in its next slate of games.
Beasley’s response: “That’s cool. We’re a great team, too. We’re just going to compete. We put the same shoes on as they do.”
Now, of course, you can scoff at this comment. The Wolves have 17 wins to date, and their record doesn’t compare to that of the Nuggets, Mavericks and Heat teams who’re vying for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
But on Wednesday, the Wolves gave Beasley’s dogged words some weight and defeated a Heat team who, on paper, they had no business of beating.
Before Wednesday, Miami was sitting at 36-21, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. They had only lost three home games, which came at the hands of the Lakers, Clippers and Celtics. Thanks to Minnesota’s 129-126 Wednesday night road win, you can now add the Wolves to that prestigious list.
In the time of the season where fans and analysts are encouraging below-.500 teams to lean into the tank, the Wolves said, “Nah, we’re good,” and played the type of basketball you don’t usually get three games into a four-game road trip.
And it wasn’t just one of those wins that fell into their lap. The Wolves outdid the Heat in multiple categories Wednesday night. The Wolves recorded 16 steals to Miami’s nine, forced 22 turnovers and scored 31 points off said turnovers, and limited the Heat to just six fast break points while scoring 29 of their own. To top it off, they scored 56 points in the paint to Bam Adebayo’s Heat’s 54.
For context, Miami is the franchise that suspends their players if their body fat is too high. In other words, they’re supposed to be the athletic team that doesn’t get outworked.
But the Wolves didn’t give into said rules, and that mentality started with D’Angelo Russell who finished the night with 27 points, six assists, five rebounds, three steals and one game-sealing block over Jimmy Butler. Russell was 9-for-18 from the field and 7-for-14 from 3-point range, which tied Karl-Anthony Towns’ season-high seven made 3s in a single game.
There was no one too intimidating, too big, too imposing for Russell on Wednesday. He played with a swagger that said, “This is my game,” and his natural basketball instincts were off the charts. It’s already been mentioned multiple times on Timberwolves.com, but it’s so exciting having a point guard who’s confident in his and his team’s abilities.
Russell’s confidence rubbed off onto his teammates in Miami, too. The Wolves held the Heat to 10 made field goals and 39.1% shooting from the field in the first quarter and continued to exude equal amounts of energy on both ends of the court throughout the night. Six Wolves players recorded at least two steals, and three players ended the night with two blocks. Their effort was unquestionable tonight, and it paid off big time.
There were, of course, the game-sealing, clutch plays at the end of the game — which we’ll get to — but I first have to commend the players who, aside from Russell, allowed the Wolves to be in the game in the fourth quarter.
Given the Wolves’ recent rim protection struggles, I thought All-Star Adebayo would for sure have his way in the paint Wednesday night. Instead, he finished the game with 22 points on 6-for-13 shooting, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
By no means is that a bad stat line, but the Wolves were able to keep Adebayo from controlling the game. Naz Reid got into some early foul trouble and had a pretty typical rookie vs. All-Star game, but teammates James Johnson and Juancho Hernangomez helped carry the weight in the paint. JJ did his typical thing of serving as the Wolves’ defensive anchor on his former home court, while Juancho served a supporting role with his helpside defense and had one of his more efficient shooting nights (17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, 3-for-5 from deep) in a Wolves uniform.
Beasley had a sneaky good stat line of eight points, four rebounds and three assists after the first quarter and led the Wolves with eight points in the fourth quarter. Beasley makes me want to suit up and hoop, so I can’t even imagine the impact he’s had on his teammates who take the court with him every day. His tenacity is unmatched, and somehow, despite all the love he’s gotten from fans, still underrated.
Jake Layman and Jarrett Culver were two other fourth-quarter heroes. His teammates’ doggedness seemed to rub off on Culver at the start of the fourth quarter when he made two clutch baskets and swatted away a Jae Crowder layup early in the final frame. Layman, who according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, had only attempted one free throw before his Nov. 18 injury, was 5-for-6 from the charity stripe and a perfect 4-for-4 in the final 17.4 seconds of the game. That’s absolutely huge coming from a player who hasn’t been in a clutch game situation in over three months.
Finally, I have to give a shoutout to McLaughlin. That guy balled tonight. He finished the night with 13 points, a clutch ATO layup, five assists, three steals and a game-high plus-20 plus-minus rating. McLaughlin doesn’t care about his status in the league. He’s just going to play the game he loves fearlessly every night. There’s something incredibly admirable about that.
Wednesday night’s win doesn’t change much about the 2019-20 season for the Wolves. The remainder of the season is still going to be a challenge. But on Wednesday night, the Wolves showed they’re willing to embrace short-term challenges if it means creating something sustainable.
In Beasley’s words, “That’s cool.”