Game Preview #71 – Timberwolves vs. Pelicans

The Minnesota Timberwolves had their winning streak snapped in heartbreaking fashion. Can they rebound and reset their momentum when the lowly Pelicans come into Target Center for a two-game series?

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Date: March 19th, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM CDT
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network North
Radio Coverage: Wolves App/iHeart Radio

Obi Toppin, St. Patrick’s Day, and the Timberwolves’ Madden Glitch Loss

If you’re a Minnesota Timberwolves fan, you’re still sitting there, jaw on the floor, wondering what the hell just happened.

Maybe you’ve rewatched that final possession 20 times. Maybe you woke up in a cold sweat at 3 a.m. and muttered “Obi Toppin” like it was some kind of supernatural curse. Maybe you’re just walking around in a daze, questioning everything you thought you knew about basketball, sports, and life in general.

Either way, we all just witnessed one of the most maddening losses of the season—an overtime collapse against a severely shorthanded Indiana Pacers team on St. Patrick’s Day that felt less like a game and more like the equivalent of that one rigged Madden simulation where the CPU decides it’s just not gonna let you win.

And if you’ve played Madden before, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

A Game That Defied All Logic

Let’s rewind. Heading into this game, the Pacers were already without Pascal Siakam. That was a gift. Then, as the injury report rolled in, it turned out Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, and Myles Turner were also out.

At that point, this should have been a glorified scrimmage.

At that point, the Wolves should have been resting their starters by the fourth quarter.

At that point, we were ready for Jim Petersen start the game with an ironic five-minute monologue about how great of a coach Chris Finch is.

Instead?

Minnesota completely fell apart.

• First quarter: 30-30, not ideal, but whatever.
• Second quarter: Minnesota forgot how to play offense, got outscored 30-16, and suddenly we were in an actual game.
• Third quarter: The Wolves got back into it, after Rudy Gobert got ejected for a flagrant foul on Andrew Nembhard, who also got ejected for throwing the ball at Rudy like he was Shaq at the free-throw line.
• Fourth quarter: Wolves finally take control, but every time they made a push, Indiana had an answer.
• Overtime: The basketball gods, clearly in a vengeful mood, activated Madden Glitch Mode and let Obi Toppin hit a ridiculous three to end the game.

And just like that, the winning streak was over.

The Perfect Storm of Wolves Ineptitude

Look, sometimes you just get unlucky. Sometimes a team gets scorching hot (like Indiana did) and hits a bunch of prayers (like Obi Toppin did). Sometimes life decides to piss in your bowl of Lucky Charms, even on St. Patrick’s Day. But this was different.

This was self-inflicted.

The Wolves didn’t just lose this game.

They handed it away, gift-wrapped, with a signed thank-you card.

Anthony Edwards went 1-for-11 from three. That’s not a typo. One. For. Eleven.

Julius Randle had multiple careless turnovers and went 6-10 from the free throw line. You could literally hear Wolves fans groaning through their televisions.

And worst of all? The defense just wasn’t there.

The Wolves allowed Indiana to score 30, 30, 29, and 28 across all four quarters and 15 in overtime.

That’s a joke.

Giving up 15 points in OT to a team missing their three best players is the equivalent of letting the 12-seed in March Madness drop 90 on you. You just can’t do it.

A Loss at the Worst Possible Time

Here’s the part that really stings:

This wasn’t just a frustrating loss.

This was a wasted opportunity.

• Golden State lost.
• Memphis lost.
• Minnesota could have moved up in the standings.

Instead? They’re still in 7th place, tied with the Warriors, and kicking themselves.

At some point, these bad losses add up.

We’ve seen this team drop games to San Antonio. We’ve seen them lose to Portland (twice!). We’ve seen them fall to Toronto, Washington, and Utah.

Every single one of those games was winnable.

And yet? Here we are.

A Wake-Up Call Before New Orleans

The silver lining is that this loss might have come at the right time.

The Wolves weren’t going to finish the season 21-0. That was never realistic. But sometimes, you need to get punched in the mouth to remind yourself not to take games off.

That brings us to Wednesday night’s must-win matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans—a team that just got steamrolled by 46 points by the Detroit Pistons. Yes, you read that correctly.

On paper, this should be an easy Wolves win.

But you know what?

We just said that about Indiana.

Keys to the Game vs. New Orleans

1. Play defense. (Seriously.)

The Wolves let Indiana do whatever they wanted. That can’t happen against Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum.

2. Close out on shooters.

Indiana hit way too many open threes. The Pelicans aren’t great from deep, but if you give them clean looks, they’ll make you pay.

3. Anthony Edwards needs to be aggressive.

Ant settled for too many pull-up threes. He’s at his best when he’s attacking. Get to the rim, get to the line.

4. Limit the turnovers.

No more reckless Randle passes. No more aimless, chaotic drives into traffic.

5. Own the paint.

Rudy, Randle, and Naz Reid need to control the glass. They allowed too many easy looks around the rim for Indiana. That cannot happen against Zion.

Bottom Line: Time to Get Back on Track

This was a brutal loss.

No way around it.

It was frustrating, infuriating, and completely avoidable. But it happened.

Now?

The Wolves have to move on.

Golden State, Memphis, and the Lakers are all going to lose games down the stretch. The Wolves need to limit their own bad losses and keep grinding.

If they want out of the play-in, they have to handle business against teams like New Orleans.

If they want home-court advantage, they need to go on another 8+ game run.

And if they want to avoid another “Madden Glitch” loss, they need to show up with some actual defensive intensity.

We’ll see if they got the message.