For the fourth consecutive season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have clinched a spot in the NBA Playoffs.
The long journey that is the NBA season finally comes to an end. After 81 games, and numerous ups and downs over the past five and a half months, the Minnesota Timberwolves closed their regular season schedule against the Utah Jazz, needing a win to clinch a top-six seed and a spot in the NBA Playoffs.
With the Timberwolves needing a win, and the Jazz sitting most of their best players, the Wolves entered the game as 23.5-point favorites, the largest spread for any NBA team in over 15 years. The last time an NBA team lost as a favorite of 20 or more points was on March 21, 1992 when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls lost to the Orlando Magic, who finished that season 21-61.
Similar to Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, the Wolves allowed the other team to take the early lead as the Jazz went up 8-2 early in the first quarter. Minnesota responded by closing the quarter with a 28-16 run including a 3-point barrage from Donte DiVincenzo.
3-3 FROM DEEP FOR DDV pic.twitter.com/ewm3PPPrtL
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 13, 2025
In the second quarter, the Timberwolves offense went completely ice-cold, going 8-25 from the field including 1-10 from beyond the arc. The Wolves only turned the ball over three times, but were unable to find the bottom of the basket consitently.
Minnesota finished the quarter with only 20 points, allowing Utah back into the game. The Jazz would build a lead as high as three before the Wolves were able to use their defense to create open looks on the offensive to take a slim 50-49 lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter was a complete flip for the Wolves offense as they scored 40 points, doubling their amount from the previous quarter. The 3-point shooting that was so absymas to that point in the game finally turned around as Minnesota made four of their eight attempts from deep to take a 90-77 lead heading into the final quarter of the regular season.
In the fourth quarter, with the Wolves in control, Anthony Edwards made his sixth and seventh 3-pointers of the game, giving him the league lead in 3-pointers made for the season. The first of which was an and-1 that put the Wolves up by 18 points.
he’s really one of them one’s. pic.twitter.com/ju3gExCpQE
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 13, 2025
Despite a late push from the Jazz, the Wolves’ lead proved to be enough as the Wolves never let the Jazz back into the game as the Timberwolves would go on to win 116-105, clinching a spot in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Edwards was sensational the entire game, finishing with 43 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Rudy Gobert has another strong game with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Brice Sensabaugh led the Jazz in scoring with 22 points.
Key Takeaways
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Anthony Edwards Incredible Shooting Season
Anthony Edwards did not come into the NBA with the reputation of being a great 3-point shooter. In his one year at the University of Georgia, Edwards made only 29.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. In his rookie year, he improved only to 32.9 percent.
He has slowly improved his shooting from deep, coming into the season with a career average of 35.3 percent with 2.6 makes per game. All of that changed this season when Edwards’ shooting numbers exploded, finishing the season as the 3-point champion.
Edwards spoke in the locker room about passing Malik Beasley for the league lead in 3-pointers made.
“Super excited. I wanted to hit it a long time ago, but they didn’t want to go in for me. Rook, appreciate rook though. Jaylen Clark, that’s who kept me up to date about it.”
Ant finished the season with four made 3-pointers per game while making more than 39.5 percent of his attempts from deep. Edwards becomes the fourth player to make four or more 3-pointers per game while hitting 39 percent or more of their attempts. The list includes Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, and now Edwards.
It’s a staggering improvement from Edwards, one that showcases the superstar guard’s ability to improve any aspect of his game he puts his mind to. Before the season when Edwards was asked what he worked on in the offseason, he responded “My catch-and-shoot trey ball.” Early in the season, when asked what he had to say to people who thought he was taking too many shots from beyond the arc, he immediately replied “f**k ‘em.”
Edwards has often struggled against the league’s worst teams, but that was far from the case today as he carried the Wolves to victory, finishing with 43 points, his ninth 40-point game of the season. With the regular season now in the rearview, the NBA now moves toward the playoffs, a place where Edwards has consistently dominated throughout his young career.
Wolves clinch playoff spot and sixth-seed
At many points, the Timberwolves season looked to be heading in the wrong direction. Starting the season 8-10 start, losing to the Jazz at the end of February which dropped them down to tenth in the standings, and losing back-to-back games to the injured Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans were all instances where escaping the Play-In Tournament seemed improbable.
Through it all, the Wolves were able to right the ship, win a total of 49 games, and earn a top-six seed and the week off that comes with it. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch spoke after the game about his feelings on securing a playoff spot.
“I told the guys, super proud of their body of work this year. We didn’t make a big trade in the middle of the season to sort things out. We didn’t fire coaches to try to sort things out. They sorted it out themselves. Those guys made the right adjustments and sacrifices, and they figured out who they needed to be as a team. We’ve still got a lot in front of us, but all credit to those guys because it mattered to them to figure out, and we did, and they did.”
Once the Wolves clinched their spot in the playoffs, it was time to see who the Wolves would draw. With the Denver Nuggets taking a big lead over the Houston Rockets, it was clear that the winner of the game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors would determine where the Wolves will be heading.
As overtime started between the Clippers and Warriors, Wolves players and staff sat around the locker room watching to see the outcome of the game with many players joking around about who they would want to play. Some wanted the Denver rematch and others wanted the Lakers but the overwhelming feeling was that of confidence with whatever matchup came their way.
After all the dust settled, the Timberwolves finished alone in sixth place in the Western Conference, setting up a playoff matchup against LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The goal down the stretch of the season for the Timberwolves has been to make the playoffs and do so without going through the Play-In Tournament. They accomplished that goal, but it’s impossible not to wonder about what could have been. If the Wolves had won just one more game, they would have ended the season as the fourth seed with home-court advantage against the Nuggets.
On the flip side, if not for a Harrison Barnes game-winner for the Spurs against the Warriors on Wednesday, the Wolves would have finished as the seventh seed, forcing them into the Play-In Tournament.
Through it all, the goal down the stretch of the season for the Timberwolves has been to make the playoffs and do so without going through the Play-In. They accomplished that goal with an impressive 17-4 record in their last 21 games. They deserve credit for salvaging a season that could have fallen apart but it’s impossible not to wonder about what could have been with a few more wins.
Up Next
It came down to the final game of the NBA season, but the Wolves playoff opponent is finally set. The sixth-seeded Timberwolves will face off against the third-seeded Lakers.
The full playoff schedule is yet to be announced, but Game One of the Wolves’ playoff series will begin on either Saturday, April 19 or Sunday, April 20.