With Kyle Anderson’s return, even just arriving in the building, Chris Finch made it clear pregame he was going to use him.
It was not a massive impact night. That’s not Kyle’s game. His impact shows up in the important plays that build structure and stability.
The real story tonight though was Finch and his staff calibrating the end of season and playoff rotations.
First Quarter
The Timberwolves opened with the usual suspects: Donte DiVincenzo, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert.
The starters, as they do way too often, came out and dropped an egg. Memphis pressured the ball, sped Minnesota up, and forced a sloppy rhythm early. The Wolves were playing faster than they wanted and turning the ball over trying to match Memphis’ pace.
The first rotation shift came at 4:32 in the first quarter with Minnesota trailing 20–16.
Donte DiVincenzo and Rudy Gobert checked out for Ayo Dosunmu and Naz Reid.
The last few games Finch had gotten away from leaving Julius Randle on the floor as the first big when Naz checks in. I understand the thinking. Julius is supposed to be an offensive force and when you are trailing it is tempting to lean into offense.
The problem is that isn’t really who he is on a night like this.
Julius is a vibes player. When the vibes are up his energy and impact are up. When they dip it shows. That does not feel like a question of effort. He clearly cares about this team and these guys. His game just runs on rhythm and feel. When he is off that rhythm fluctuates during the game.
Pulling Rudy first didn’t feel ideal in that environment. Memphis was winning with pace and transition pressure. The issue was tempo and structure, not half court scoring. Removing your rim protector while the opponent is flying around increases the chaos.
The game started drifting in that direction.
At 2:59 with Memphis up 25–19, Finch made another adjustment. Rudy Gobert and Bones Hyland checked in while Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle came off the floor.
Minnesota suddenly had a bench-heavy group built around Ayo, Bones, Jaden, Naz, and Rudy.
Kyle Anderson made his return shortly after.
At 2:16 with Memphis leading 26–21, Anderson checked in for Jaden McDaniels and Target Center immediately stood up.
Kyle received a standing ovation that honestly got emotional in the building. Wolves fans understand exactly what kind of player he is.
Kyle’s stat line stayed quiet, which is normal. His value rarely shows up in the box score. It shows up in decisions, off ball movement, and keeping possessions connected.
He screens on the weak side while others run pick and roll. He moves the ball quickly. He settles possessions without slowing everything to a crawl. It looked like he had not missed a beat.
Rudy picked up another foul shortly after reentering and came back out at 1:44 with Memphis leading 29–21, bringing Julius Randle back onto the floor.
Minnesota finished the quarter trailing 32–23 with a pace-heavy group of Ayo, Bones, Kyle, Naz, and Randle.
Second Quarter
The second quarter got pretty crazy with lineups.
Clearly a bit of an experiment and a lot of quick looks.
The Wolves opened the quarter down 32–23 with that same group: Ayo Dosunmu, Bones Hyland, Kyle Anderson, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle.
Memphis pushed the lead early in the quarter and briefly stretched it to 34–23, which is where the game started to feel like it could get away.
Finch began cycling players back in immediately.
At 9:56 with Memphis leading 35–24, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert returned for Naz Reid and Julius Randle.
At 9:41, Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo came back in for Bones Hyland and Ayo Dosunmu.
Within about fifteen seconds Finch rebuilt most of the defensive core of the lineup. The floor now had Ant, Donte, Kyle, Jaden, and Rudy.
That lineup barely had time to settle.
Rudy picked up an offensive foul at 9:34, and Naz Reid immediately returned. The rotations in this stretch were happening almost possession by possession depending on fouls and game flow.
The Wolves finally started generating energy.
At 9:16 with Memphis up 35–24, Anthony Edwards generated a steal that led to a Donte DiVincenzo dunk in transition.
Two minutes later the Wolves forced another turnover and Ant connected with Donte again for an alley-oop dunk at 7:44, cutting the lead to 38–30.
Ayo Dosunmu returned at 7:59, bringing defensive pressure and pace back into the lineup.
One of the better stretches came with Ant, Donte, Ayo, Jaden, and Naz on the floor. That group had length, defensive activity, and the ability to run after stops.
What stands out about this roster right now is the versatility Finch has to work with. Minnesota can change the style of the game simply by changing the lineup. If the opponent wants to run, Finch can match pace with groups built around Ayo, Naz, and Ant pushing in transition. If the game slows down, he can pivot to lineups built around Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson that add structure and half court stability.
That flexibility showed up throughout the quarter. Memphis pushed the tempo early and stretched the lead, but the Wolves were able to counter with faster lineups that forced turnovers, ran the floor, and shifted momentum.
The Wolves slowly chipped away.
Naz added a hook shot. Ant kept attacking downhill. Ayo continued pushing tempo after defensive stops.
By the middle of the quarter Minnesota had stabilized the game, trailing 42–34 instead of letting Memphis run away.
The biggest swing came late in the quarter when the defense started generating turnovers.
At 2:13 with Memphis leading 54–45, Ayo finished a transition layup.
At 1:47, Anthony Edwards drilled a deep three after another defensive stop, cutting the deficit to 54–50.
Suddenly the game felt completely different.
Julius Randle had already returned earlier in the quarter at 3:57, and Kyle Anderson checked back in at 1:32 for Jaden McDaniels to help close the half.
The final moments belonged to Anthony Edwards.
Ant attacked the rim and then buried a turnaround jumper with nine seconds left, bringing the Wolves within 62–57 at halftime.
What had looked like a Memphis runaway earlier in the quarter ended as a tight game.
The rotations looked messy on paper, but the bigger takeaway was encouraging. Finch kept probing combinations, leaning into the groups that created energy, and the Wolves’ depth kept the game from spiraling out of control.
Third Quarter
The third quarter is where things really started to feel calculated.
Minnesota opened the half trailing 62–57, but the starters immediately stabilized the game. Jaden McDaniels knocked down a pull-up jumper at 11:22 and Donte DiVincenzo answered Memphis’ early run with a three at 9:49.
Memphis briefly pushed the lead back to 70–62, but the Wolves started chipping away.
Rudy Gobert grabbed a rebound and finished a putback at 9:11. Anthony Edwards attacked downhill for a hook shot at 8:44, cutting the game to 70–68. A few possessions later Julius Randle finished at the rim to tie things 72–72.
Minnesota finally flipped the game at 6:33.
After a DiVincenzo steal, Edwards finished a running layup in transition to give the Wolves a 74–72 lead. The building felt the shift.
The next stretch showed exactly why Rudy works in the faster lineups.
Gobert kept cleaning the glass. McDaniels finished an alley-oop dunk at 5:47 off another DiVincenzo assist. Randle added a putback at 4:55. Possession after possession started with a defensive rebound, an outlet, and the Wolves attacking before Memphis could set its defense.
Defense creating offense.
That’s why Rudy can still work in the pace lineups. Think about rec on 2K. Sometimes the big whose job is defense and rebounding is the reason the team can run. Stop, rebound, outlet, now you’re pushing the floor.
The rotation adjustment came midway through the quarter.
At 4:36, Finch subbed Ayo Dosunmu for Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid for Julius Randle, keeping Rudy Gobert on the floor.
That’s the rotation I wanted earlier in the game.
Instead of chasing offense when trailing, Finch kept the defensive anchor in and layered pace around him.
Moments later the lineup shifted again when Bones Hyland entered for Jaden McDaniels at 4:23, giving Minnesota:
Edwards
Ayo
Bones
Naz
Gobert
That group pushed the tempo immediately.
Bones knocked down a deep three at 3:48, Anthony Edwards answered with a step-back three at 3:06, and Rudy continued dominating the glass to extend possessions.
Finch made another small adjustment late in the quarter.
At 2:35, Kyle Anderson checked in for Anthony Edwards, creating a lineup of:
Ayo
Bones
Kyle
Naz
Gobert
That group showed the depth this roster has now. Kyle brought control and decision making, Ayo kept the motor high, Bones injected scoring energy, Rudy anchored everything, and Naz spaced the floor while attacking mismatches.
Memphis made a small push late, but the Wolves never lost their structure the way they did in the first quarter.
Instead of removing structure to chase pace, Finch kept structure on the floor and layered energy around it.
Minnesota carried that momentum into the fourth, leading 89–82 after three.
Fourth Quarter
The Wolves opened the fourth with Ayo Dosunmu, Bones Hyland, Julius Randle, Naz Reid, and Kyle Anderson on the floor, leading 89–82.
Ayo immediately pushed the pace and finished a layup at 11:33, extending the lead to 91–82.
This was the kind of lineup Finch had been experimenting with all night. Pace, spacing, and decision making around bigger forwards. Memphis answered with a dunk from Pippen Jr. at 10:30, but Minnesota responded when Bones Hyland drilled a deep three at 9:41, pushing the lead to 94–84.
Memphis kept hanging around.
Jerome hit a three at 9:10, and the Wolves had a couple empty possessions including a shot clock violation that stalled the offense.
At 8:57, Finch brought Anthony Edwards back in for Bones Hyland. A moment later Donte DiVincenzo returned for Kyle Anderson, reintroducing two starters as the Wolves tried to settle the game.
Julius Randle kept the offense moving during this stretch. He knocked down both free throws at 8:44 and then finished a driving layup at 8:07, keeping Minnesota comfortably in front.
Memphis refused to go away.
At 6:22, Wells finished inside to cut the lead to 101–91, but Anthony Edwards answered immediately with a step-back three at 6:13.
That sequence sparked the biggest Wolves run of the quarter.
Randle cleaned up a putback at 5:57, and then Edwards exploded again with a pull-up three at 5:05, stretching the Wolves’ lead to 106–91.
Finch then made another rotation decision that stood out.
At 5:57, he went back to size and defense, bringing Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert back in. The Wolves now had their defensive core on the floor to protect the lead.
Edwards kept attacking. He hit a turnaround jumper at 4:02 and then drilled a 31-foot step-back three at 3:39, stretching Minnesota’s lead to 111–94.
That should have been the dagger.
Instead, Memphis made things uncomfortable late.
Coward hit a three at 1:05, followed by drives and free throws that suddenly cut the lead to 113–110.
Minnesota never fully lost control, but the closing stretch got a little chaotic.
One subtle coaching decision stood out during that final run.
Finch stayed with Ayo Dosunmu instead of Donte DiVincenzo in the late minutes. Ayo’s defensive activity and pace helped keep Memphis from completely flipping the momentum.
Then came another interesting moment.
With nine seconds left, Finch subbed Kyle Anderson back in for Rudy Gobert to close the game.
It was a small moment, but a telling one.
Kyle racked up DNPs and low minute stretches at his last stops, which led some people to wonder if he might be washed. Finch clearly doesn’t see it that way.
In Minnesota, Finch knows exactly what Kyle brings and trusts him within the system. We saw the same thing earlier this season with Mike Conley. Under Finch, trust and familiarity often carry a lot of weight in rotation decisions.
Even after time apart, that trust between Finch and Kyle still looks intact.
The Wolves closed it out 117–110.
It was not the cleanest game Minnesota has played this year. There were sloppy possessions and stretches where the lead should have been safer than it was.
Still, with Ayo Dosunmu and Kyle Anderson now part of the mix, the roster feels more complete. The Wolves have more structure, better vibes, and real versatility with the types of lineups Finch can deploy.
This team can play fast. It can slow the game down. It can defend, rebound, and create offense in transition.
That flexibility is what good playoff teams rely on.
With the roster finally starting to look whole, this group feels capable of making a real push this year.
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