Timberwolves remain atop West heading to Detroit Wednesday night
Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates with Kyle Anderson #1 against the LA Clippers in the third quarter at Target Center on January 14, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Clippers 109-105. ((Photo by David Berding/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Don’t blink when you see it, the Minnesota Timberwolves have held the top spot in the Western Conference for nearly two months.
The Timberwolves held off the L.A. Clippers 109-105 Sunday night at Target Center to improve to 28-11 on the season. Nearly halfway through, they have the No. 1 spot in the West ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets by a game each. It’s not a surprise to veteran guard Mike Conley Jr., who liked what he saw going all the way back to training camp.
"I just looked at it on paper honestly. Look at our roster and the guys, the length that we have, it was a match made in heaven for a team to have the opportunity be a really good defensive-minded team if we all buy in," Conley said Tuesday at Mayo Clinic Square. "That kind of set the stage for us."
It also helps that the Timberwolves have the best home record in the Western Conference. Their 16-2 mark at Target Center is the second-best in the NBA, to only the Boston Celtics. The Timberwolves nearly handed the Celtics their first home loss last week.
To this point, the Wolves have defended their home court and they’ll need more of that if they get that advantage in the playoffs.
"I think we’re like almost selling out every home game, so that’s huge for us. I think to have that energy we haven’t had in the last couple years, it’s been great, phenomenal," Naz Reid said. "The support, everybody is engaged, everybody is excited to see us play. That’s to the fans."
The Timberwolves have consistently handled their business, something that couldn’t be said in years past. They had a stretch of 16 straight games against teams with above .500 records when they played them, which ended against the Celtics.
The Wolves went 9-7 in that stretch. It’s been a while since they’ve been the top team in the West in mid-January, but here we are. The Timberwolves now have three games in the next four nights, starting Wednesday in Detroit. The luxury is after facing the Pistons, they have three straight at home.
"It feels like we have our mojo back in a lot of different ways, which is important to us. We have a three in four here, so it’s important for us as coaches to make sure that we keep them in the right kind of pace to be able to play those games fresh," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.