Obi Toppin’s 20 points and Tyrese Haliburton’s 24 down Timberwolves in a wire-to-wire win.
The Minnesota Timberwolves had the opportunity to get their revenge one week after losing to the shorthanded Indiana Pacers at home in overtime. The Pacers were much healthier as Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam looked to continue their winning ways as the Timberwolves scratch and claw for playoff positioning in the West.
The last time Minnesota was in Indiana, Anthony Edwards took flight for a game-saving block right after the news of the Karl-Anthony Towns injury had struck a blow to Timberwolves fans in the midst of their great season. Edwards is questionable tonight with a thumb injury as Minnesota looks to slow down the fast-paced Indiana Pacers and keep the pressure on the Golden State Warriors as they attempt to escape the Play-In tournament.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
It was a slow shooting start for both teams in the first as they took turns trying to find a rhythm on the offensive end. Edwards was being impacted by his hand being wrapped early on as he missed all three of his 3-pointers in the opening frame.
Indiana was pushed the pace which helped them to get some open looks and take an eight-point advantage early. Minnesota followed that up by getting into a groove of their own with a 7-0 run. After the Pacers punched back to maintain their small lead, Jaylen Clark entered the game and provided an instant spark for the Wolves.
Scoring was even for Minnesota across the board in the first with Rudy Gobert cleaning up the glass with seven rebounds in the opening period.
OKAY MIKE!!! pic.twitter.com/pdcUDs0Q0r
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 24, 2025
The Wolves carried over their momentum from the first to the second quarter as they got out in transition to the tune of an extended 9-2 run. Indiana used a timeout to readjust and respond to Minnesota’s run with eight straight points.
At this point, things started to unravel a bit for the Wolves as some poor offense, a missed call, and a technical foul let Indiana get out to their largest lead of the night at 13. The Wolves regained composure at the end of the half to cut the lead down to six with Ant leading the way with 12 points for Minnesota. To no one’s surprise, Toppin poured on 11 from the bench including going 3-5 from deep.
that’s a tough lay Æ. pic.twitter.com/DjZCZMjbG0
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 25, 2025
The Pacers took advantage of the lack of point-of-attack defense from the Wolves to start the third as Tyrese Halliburton went on a solo 8-0 run to get Indiana’s lead up to 15. Ant hit his first and only 3-pointers of the game to cap seven straight points as the seesaw swung back the other direction in this game of runs.
Indiana ramped up the defensive intensity after their lead was cut down to single digits which led to a 12-0 run. Toppin continued his hot streak against the Wolves and the Pacers followed suit- shooting 9-14 from beyond the arc in the third.
The Timberwolves had a big hole to dig out of in the 4th and gave a good effort to start as they went on a 9-0 run spurred by ball movement. Naz Reid was cooking getting into his post bag and hitting a triple to try and start the comeback. After the initial run, it was all Indiana. They shut down the Wolves’ hopes of a comeback and ended the game early on in the quarter.
Key Takeaways
Point of Attack Defense
The Pacers led wire-to-wire tonight and dominated the Wolves on the offensive end of the floor. Minnesota played less than inspiring defense that started at the point of attack. Defending the initiator is extremely important especially against the Pacers on account of Tyrese Haliburton.
If you don’t provide resistance, he will dice up the defense and get everyone good looks including himself. Hali finished with 24 points and 11 assists and was a +13. He started the runs and put the game away in the third quarter.
Tyrese Haliburton is heatin’ up in the third ♨️
13 PTS (3 3PM) in the quarter. pic.twitter.com/V7FuatI4DW
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 25, 2025
Obi Toppin: Timberwolves Killer
When Obi Toppin went 7-10 on 3-pointers last week for 34 points in an undermanned win, Timberwolves fans had nightmares for days. With these wounds still fresh, Toppin decided to double down and become public enemy number 1 for Minnesota fans and cement himself in the Timberwolves killer hall of fame. Toppin went 6-9 from deep, good for 20 points off the bench to back up his performance last week.
Obi Toppin 3-point shooting this season…
2g vs. MIN — 72.2% (13/18)
66g vs. Everyone Else — 33.8% (77/228)— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) March 25, 2025
Naz Reid Finding Rhythm
The positivity to glean from this bleak game is that Naz Reid had an efficient performance and found his spots to score from. Naz has been off especially with his outside shot for a little while now and it was good to see him get into a rhythm in this one. Naz went 3-6 from beyond the arc and shot 8-13 from the floor for 20 points. He had some tough buckets and when the offense ran through him he provided a good spark on that end of the floor.
Naz Reid PnR pull-up 3 pic.twitter.com/eFkxlBRfwc
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) March 24, 2025
Up Next
After having multiple stretches this season with flurries of games in a short time span, the Timberwolves have hit a slow spot in the schedule as they will have three off days before taking on the Phoenix Suns at home on Friday night. That game tips off at 7:00 PM CT, airing on FanDuel Sports Network and NBA TV.