Wolves Clinch Playoffs 7 Seed in Win over Clippers

Just have to say, wow! Target Center was the most lit arena in all of North America on Tuesday night! It is good to be back recapping Wolves playoff basketball!
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the LA Clippers in the Play-In Tournament to clinch their second playoff berth since 2004! Lets recap with the stats!

Stat Line:
#WolvesBack:
Starters:
J. Vanderbilt  3 pts 1-2 FG 1-2 FT 10 REB 1 AST 1 foul
A. Edwards  30 pts 10-21 FG 5-11 3pt 5-6 FT 5 REB 2 AST 1 STL 4 fouls
K. Towns  11 pts 3-11 FG 0-2 3pt 5-6 FT 5 REB 3 AST 2 STL 6 fouls (fouled out)
P. Beverley  7 pts 2-8 FG 1-5 3pt 2-4 FT 11 REB 3 AST 1 STL 1 BLK 3 fouls
D. Russell  29 pts  10-18 FG 3-5 3pt 6-8 FT 5 REB 6 AST 3 STL 4 fouls
Bench:
J. McDaniels  6 pts 2-6 FG 1-2 3pt 1-2 FT 3 REB 1 AST 2 STL 5 fouls
N. Reid  8 pts 3-7 FG 1-3 3pt 1-4 FT 4 REB 1 AST 
M. Beasley  12 pts 4-8 FG 3-7 3pt 1-3 FT 6 REB 1 BLK 1 foul
J. Nowell  3 pts 1-2 FG 1-2 FT 

Game Recap:
The Wolves were very nervous and shaky to start Tuesday's Play-In game. This wasn't the pinnacle of where they could reach, just the beginning. While Minnesota came out of the gate with 7 of the game's first 9 points, it wouldn't stay that way. LA gained the lead not more then 3 minutes after the Wolves hit 7 points. It would remain that way until the second half. But not before the Wolves hit a new high when Jaden McDaniels hit a buzzer-beater 3 pointer to end the 1st quarter. It ultimately gave the Wolves the momentum heading in the second quarter. Which resulted in a resurgence by the Wolves offense to give them the 2 point lead heading into halftime.
During that first half some great things happened, including Anthony Edwards ending the half with around 12 points. But Karl-Anthony Towns went into the half with 4 fouls. While not all of them were his fault, he did commit some not very smart fouls. He went 0-8 in the first half from the field and only managed points at the free throw line. The Clippers defended him the same way they did when the beat Minnesota back in 2021 all three times, and it worked again. 
In the second half, the Wolves started a little more sluggish, obviously seeing the body of work in front of them. Minnesota just was struggled to find that edge they had before half and found themselves down by 6 points yet again at the end of the 3rd quarter. However, they also had another buzzer-beater 3 pointer at the end of the quarter this time from Malik Beasley! KAT committed his 5th foul and had to sit yet again. 
In the 4th quarter the Wolves played like their season was on the line (it wasn't, but Memphis is far favorable then Phoenix). They had a passion and tenacity that we have seen in Target Center all year long. Patrick Beverley was being the pesky defender like he is all the time, and D'Angelo Russell was playing the best basketball of the season. Anthony Edwards continued to impress towards the end of the game. Towns fouled out with around 7 minutes remaining in the game, and that somehow jumpstarted the Wolves offense on both sides of the floor. While they were without their franchise cornerstone, they were able to break through without him. It started with DLo hitting shots from deep and then translating to Edwards and Beverley stealing and blocking shots. With 4 minutes remaining the Wolves had capitalized on a Clippers miss and took the lead for the first time since the beginning of the 3rd quarter. They wouldn't relent for the remainder of the game. Ant and DLo traded good shots and 3 pointers as the clock ticked away. Defense was a huge win for the Wolves in the final 3 minutes, hardly allowing LA to shoot the ball at all, especially the hot hand Paul George. With the clock ticking away, D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards both hit dagger 3-pointers that put the game nearly out of reach. Then the rest was history, more free throws with good defense by the Wolves after the fact. 

This team beat the Clippers without their #1 star, and it wasn't easy, but they did it. That is the difference between the 2018 Minnesota team and this year's team. They don't rely on one person to bring them to glory. This unit operates as a team, not as individuals. They found arguably the best head coach Minnesota has had since Flip Saunders in Chris Finch (who should earn Coach of the Year), who has led them here. Minnesota still has a long way to go in the realm of becoming perennial playoff contenders, but this is a huge step. While the win wasn't pretty, it was won with grit and guts from the star players at the most crucial times. That is what playoff basketball is all about. 

Injury Report
The Wolves had no one on the injury report until this afternoon when it was decided that Taurean Prince would sit out the play-in game due to knee inflammation. He hopes to be back in the lineup for the first round of the playoffs.

Up Next
Now the Wolves will move on to the first round of the playoffs! They enter as the 7 seed in the West and will play the 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies. I hope to do a series preview later this week, so look out for that. Game 1 of the best of 7 series starts on Saturday, April 16th at 2:30 PM CT in Memphis. 

Lets Go Wolves!!!!!
#WolvesBack #RaisedByWolves