Monday night was never going to be Friday night. At least by no reasonable expectation.
After a 40-point evisceration of the Utah Jazz at Target Center on Friday night, the Wolves this time were in Salt Lake City to take on Utah for the second time in four days.
Ironically, the game started out almost at the inverse of Friday as well. The Wolves came out of the gate slow. Julius Randle didn’t connect on his first field goal until the 3:27 mark of the second quarter, and Anthony Edwards took a little bit of time early in the game to find his stride with 10 first-half points.
It would be Rudy Gobert who got the game going and brought energy for the Wolves, showing uncharacteristic touch around the rim and confident rim runs that started to show themselves last game in Sacramento. Rudy would have 12 of his 14 points on the night in the first half, and be important on ending possessions and locking down an inadequate frontcourt from the Jazz.
A slog back and forth for much of the first half, the Jazz would find a way to overcome a sleepy start from Minnesota and find a way to get up nine points halfway through the second quarter. Both teams were shooting 31 percent apiece from deep and it was shaping up to be more of a football game than anything.
But it’s funny how these things work. Just like the Wolves have been a victim of so many times, good teams will close out inferior teams at the behest of their best players. Randle and Edwards came out in the second half firing, running seamless action with each other, and stringing together a 25-7 run out of the break to jump out to a 16-point lead.
There were ebbs and flows, but the Wolves never really let it get nerve-racking from there. Ant would go on to finish the game with 35 points on 13-25 shooting, and Randle brought up the other side of things with what seems to be a normal statline of his now with 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
Now winners of five of their last six, and while against bad teams, Edwards, Randle, and co. have found their rhythm and will need to keep finding this rhythmic way of doing things against teams more at their level.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – NOVEMBER 10: Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives against Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center on November 10, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) Getty Images
The Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards tour continued with its Salt Lake City stop on Monday night, and although the first half might not have been the way they would have drawn it up, the second half was a masterclass on how to grab hold of a game.
How many times in seasons past have 19,000 people at Target Center begged for someone to get high percentage looks and use their ability to score at will in order to put teams away that deserve to be put away?
For a long time, it was Anthony Edwards settling for jumpshots late in games, or him and Karl-Anthony Towns taking turns putting up lower percentage looks. Even last year, there were times with Randle that made people roll their eyes.
But this year feels a little more polished. The Wolves are one of the more efficient teams in isolation scoring; not only an important stat for situations like this, but also for postseason basketball when the game slows down and half-court offense becomes more important.
They certainly had a little help from others (cough Jaden McDaniels cough), but the seamless ability for Edwards and Randle to play off of each other and build trust that they’ll get the ball back has not only borne fruit for them, but has seen confidence grow from others around them in the starting lineup. Namely, a true, legitimate third option coming to life before our eyes.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – NOVEMBER 10: Jaden McDaniels #3 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives around Svi Mykhailiuk #10 of the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center on November 10, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) Getty Images
1.) Continuity was the theme heading into this year as to why a near-identical Wolves roster would be able to break through to new heights that they weren’t able to last year. I feel pretty comfortable at this point saying it’s not that, and instead saying it’s Jaden McDaniels without batting an eye. When McDaniels signed his five-year, 136 million dollar extension a couple of offseasons ago, many thought he could turn into a Mikael Bridges third option three-and-D player.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
- First 5,000 using the code SBNFALL30 get a free month
- Never miss a Timberwolves game. Stream all season long with FanDuel Sports Network
Not only has he surpassed that just a few games into this season, but he’s starting to be the focal point of play calls and get to legitimate spots on the floor that he doesn’t miss from often, something that previously didn’t happen very much. In the fourth quarter, the Jazz got the lead down to seven points with 8:44 left in the game. With just eight points at that time in the game, McDaniels took it upon himself and went on a self 6-0 run to put the Wolves back up by 13, both running the floor on the fastbreak and getting his jumpshot rolling. He had 12 fourth-quarter points on 4-5 shooting. Without him, I’d be pretty confident in saying this game would be in peril.
That’s a legitimate third option, and if that can stay consistent, a nice equalizer the Wolves would have that they previously didn’t have if they’re playing basketball again in late May.
2.) I think it’s fair to mention that the nice run the Wolves went on before half to close the gap from being down nine points was in non-Rudy minutes. For as putrid as they’ve been early on in the season, Julius Randle rebounded the ball at an exponentially better rate than he had been. Naz Reid didn’t have the best game, but started out 3-5 from the field and was able to pose a threat in stretching the floor.
There should still be legitimate concerns, especially since these flashes have come against teams that aren’t very good, but a blueprint has been shown over the last couple of games that could prevent these stretches from being catastrophic. Reid just has to find that other gear that he hasn’t quite been able to yet (which is completely understandable given his circumstances).
Take your significant other on a date night this week, maybe go pick out holiday decorations.
If there’s a week to be a pleasant surprise, this is the one! The Wolves don’t play again until Friday, where they’ll be back at Target Center after the quick road trip for their second NBA cup game in as many weeks.
Ironically, in alternating opponent fashion, they’ll host the ailing Sacramento Kings. Jazz, Kings, Jazz, Kings; only this time it won’t be an 8:00 CST start. Tipoff on the lime green court will be 7:00 PM CST.
