The scenes from Friday at Target Center were unlike those fans might have witnessed earlier in the season. The Wolves beat the Magic 118-111 for their seventh consecutive win. This came after they were down 11 early in the fourth quarter thanks to a dreadful third quarter that they lost 29-16.

Earlier this season, a night like this might have spiraled into a loss. Instead the Wolves came back with a couple of brilliant bursts of play that got the crowd roaring instead of moaning.

“We’ve matured as a team. We’re still maturing as a team,” said Donte DiVincenzo, who had 14 points. “… We’re more comfortable with each other and what everybody’s good at. Understanding that one mistake or one bad play from somebody is not the end of the world. It’s all about staying together. Tonight, everybody stepped in.”

DiVincenzo reignited the positive energy when he blocked Orlando’s Caleb Houstan at the hoop shortly after the Wolves went down double digits. The Wolves were off and running from there.

“I told y’all, I’m a rim protector,” DiVincenzo said with a smile after the game. “No one wanted to believe me.”

Later in the game, Jaden McDaniels ripped the ball away from Franz Wagner, who he helped limit to 4-for-16 shooting (16 points). McDaniels went down the floor alone for an authoritative jam that made the score 107-98 with 1 minute, 52 seconds to play. That capped the night, as the Wolves overcame the second-best defense in the league (though missing several players, including Minnehaha Academy’s Jalen Suggs) and 43 points from Paolo Banchero.

In between the DiVincenzo block and the McDaniels dunk, Anthony Edwards (28 points) put the Wolves ahead with five straight points — a three-pointer and a tough, hanging layup in the lane as he was falling down. Those buckets broke a 98-98 tie and put the Wolves up 103-98 with 2:34 to play.

Then came the play that to coach Chris Finch encapsulated how far the Wolves have come. Edwards tried for a dagger three the next time down the floor. He hit iron. No worries, though, as Julius Randle (22 points, seven rebounds, five assists) came in steadily from the top of the key, timed his leap perfectly and stuffed the rebound through the hoop for a seven-point Wolves lead. Randle said the crowd helped him put back that dunk.