Logan Harlow

The Minnesota Timberwolves were in a familiar spot entering the fourth quarter Wednesday night. They were in a close road game against one of the Western Conference’s better teams, and the Houston Rockets were building momentum. This was the kind of game that has become familiar to Wolves fans. They've seen the team lose tough road games like that many times before. Then LaMelo Ball took over for a few minutes. When his run ended, Jonathan Kuminga delivered the final blow. The Timberwolves trailed 90-88 entering the fourth quarter before Ball helped flip the game. After committing three fouls in roughly 30 seconds and putting Houston in the bonus, Ball responded with eight consecutive points to take control. Ball got to the rim a couple of times in the fourth and hit a huge 3 with 6:55 to tie the game at 94. The Rockets had controlled stretches of the game, but Ball’s response gave the Wolves the push they needed. He wasn’t done yet. With the Rockets still within striking distance, Ball hit another three with 6:04 remaining to give Minnesota a 99-96 lead. It was the final lead change of the night. From there, Kuminga said it was his turn to take over. Kuminga scored eight consecutive points to put the game away in the final 3 minutes, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field during clutch time. His first big shot came with the Rockets still within two, as he knocked down a massive corner three to extend Minnesota’s lead to five. Then came an even bigger sequence. After Ayo Dosunmu came up with a steal and smartly called a timeout to prevent a tie-up, Kuminga followed it with a huge tip-in to put Minnesota ahead 111-104 with 1:51 remaining. Houston got another chance to make the game interesting, but Kuminga immediately turned it into a two-possession lead again. Less than a minute later, he did it again. Kuminga knocked down a dagger three from the corner off an offensive rebound to push the lead to 114-106, essentially putting the game away. It was a pretty fitting way for the Wolves to close out the night. Ball had created the separation earlier in the quarter, and Kuminga ensured Houston couldn’t take it back. Ball finished with 20 points and six assists, scoring 12 of his points in the fourth quarter. He was perfect when it mattered the most. He made all four of his fourth-quarter shots and threw passes to open looks, which kept the offense moving. Kuminga finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, but his fourth-quarter scoring stood out. He went 3-for-3 from the field in the final five minutes, including two three-pointers and the tip-in that gave Minnesota its seven-point lead. These two were the difference down the stretch in a game that had 26 lead changes. The Rockets responded to Minnesota’s runs for most of the night. Every time the Wolves started to create separation, Houston found a way back in. The fourth quarter finally gave Minnesota the separation it had been searching for. Wednesday night was the most impressive win of the season for the Wolves because it wasn’t one player having to carry every possession. Many guys on the roster stepped up to beat the Rockets, the No. 1 seed in the West. Jalen Clark was a revelation off the bench, scoring 10 points, knocking down a couple of threes, and showing elite hustle and defense that don’t appear in the box score. Bones Hyland and Ayo Dosunmo were also spectacular, scoring 19 and 21 points, respectively. The game isn’t there to be closed in clutch time if those two don’t combine for 40 points. Minnesota got its best late-game stretches from two players who went about it in completely different ways. The Wolves outscored the Rockets 35-23 in the fourth quarter, turning a two-point deficit into a comfortable 10-point victory. They also finished the game on an 11-2 run over the final 2:09, with Kuminga scoring eight of those points. For a team that spent much of the night trading blows with Houston, the final few minutes reminded everyone how quickly a close game can change when you trust your teammates and seek the best shot.