MINNEAPOLIS -- There was a definite last day of school vibe on the Timberwolves bench before Sunday night's 136-121 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center.
Josh Okogie was dancing with strength coach Bill Burgos, and the bench was just bouncing around like it was a mini moshpit prior to tipoff.
The mood was understandable at the end of a trying season filled with plenty of losing, a coaching change, not to mention the isolation and frequent testing that came with a season playing amid a pandemic.
Before the game, coach Chris Finch was asked what he enjoyed about coaching for the Wolves for the second half of the season. After searching for the right words, he said with a smile: "We don't have any idiots on our team. They're all good guys. They're fun to work with every day."
That has been important since the Wolves have tried to be as competitive as possible down the stretch, draft odds be darned. The Wolves will keep their pick if it lands in the top three of the draft and Sunday's game could have added some percentage points to those chances with a loss.
But with the victory, the Wolves locked up the sixth-worst record in the league, assuring themselves of 27.6% odds of keeping the pick. They could have maxed those odds around 40% if they had finished in the bottom three of the league.
The Wolves weren't so fun Saturday afternoon, when they looked like they wanted nothing to do with their final games in a listless loss to Boston. However, the Wolves came out with the opposite energy for the finale. It was rookies Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels who provided the spark.
McDaniels jumpstarted them with eight of their first 10 points as the Wolves opened a 20-8 lead.
McDaniels capped off a promising rookie season with one of his best scoring nights of the season while defending Luka Doncic for stretches.
"He's always in the play," Finch said of McDaniels' defense. "Even when you feel he's out of the play, he stays in the play. What I like most is he just has a little bit of nastiness to him and he hasn't figured out how to always employ it, but he's competitive and he'll get a little bit frisky out there if need be."
McDaniels can appear quiet and emotionless but that friskiness can manifest itself in subtle ways.
"He'll fight. Throw a little elbow," Finch said. "Get like a cheap foul call when he's trying to send a message or retaliate on something. These are things that show a level of competitiveness and a level of determination on defense."
McDaniels helped set the tone Sunday with his play on both ends. The Wolves had a blistering first half from the floor, again in stark contrast to Saturday, when they shot just 5-for-37 from three-point range. They opened Sunday 13 of 26 from deep.
Anthony Edwards took over in the third quarter after putting up 11 in the first half. He scored 13 in the third and was 5-for-9 from three-point range through 36 minutes and looked effortless shooting from deep after it was a struggle for him earlier in the season. Naz Reid was perfect off the bench through three in going 6-for-6 for 15 points to help the Wolves build the lead. Reid's shooting numbers included three three-pointers. The Wolves carried a 113-95 lead into the fourth.
The Wolves could have just shrugged their way into the offseason, but Sunday's performance was more indicative of the team they became over the last month of the season.
