Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert works past Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze at Target Center in Minneapolis on March 14, 2025. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch acknowledged pregame that the Orlando Magic’s physicality has given the Wolves fits at times in previous matchups. They’re a good defensive team that can turn you over and turn it into points.
That proved to be the case Friday night as the Wolves turned it over 16 times and struggled to match up against Paolo Banchero’s physicality on the defensive end. But Minnesota was able to rally from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit with its own late surge in a 118-111 victory over the Magic at Target Center in Minneapolis, the Wolves’ seventh straight win.
The Magic (31-37) closed the third quarter on a 17-3 run to take a nine-point lead into the final frame. But the Wolves (39-29) got off to a quick start to the fourth quarter, getting a number of big plays from the likes of Donte DiVincenzo and Jaden McDaniels. The Wolves took off to a five-point lead, but the Magic knotted it back up at 98-98 in the final minutes.
Minnesota hadn’t always won these types of games earlier in the season, but on Friday, Anthony Edwards answered with a 3-pointer, then got to the rim for a layup and a five-point lead. Edwards, who scored a team-high 28 points, looked for the dagger, taking a 3 from Mars. It didn’t fall, but bounced off the rim into the hands of Julius Randle for a putback dunk.
That gave the Wolves a 105-98 lead, and the Magic called timeout. McDaniels, who had a terrific two-way game with 11 points, eight boards, three steals, two assists and two blocks, got a steal and broke free in transition for another slam.
Ballgame.
“I think we’re making more little plays,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. “I think, like the Julius putback dunk, maybe earlier in the season we don’t run that down and dunk it. … Really, the little things are what we’re doing a better job of.”
Banchero was a touch matchup for the Wolves as he continued to get to the rim and find his shots. He scored a game-high 43 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out three assists. Caleb Houstan was the biggest supporting cast member as he knocked down 6 of his 8 shots from deep on his way to 18 points off the bench. The Magic took advantage of the 16 Wolves turnovers turning them into 20 points. They ended up with an 11-point fourth-quarter lead.
And it was another collective effort. DiVincenzo had 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and a highlight-reel block of Houstan in the third quarter. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added another 12 points and three boards off the bench. Rudy Gobert had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Mike Conley had a game-best plus-minus of plus-20.
The Wolves will look to stretch their winning streak to eight Sunday night when they host the Utah Jazz for a 6 p.m. tipoff.
Published 7 Hours Ago|Modified Mar 14, 2025
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