With 6:50 left in the fourth quarter, a rousing applause came from Target Center, the loudest it had been all night.
A rarity that early in the game nowadays, it was Joe Ingles time. Well-deserved Joe Ingles time at that.
If anything less than Monday night’s result against the flailing Dallas Mavericks happened, ghosts of Timberwolves past may haunt fans for two days until the ball tips off against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
But it didn’t, and the 2025-26 Minnesota Timberwolves have certified themselves as a team that has grown up and is able to put away an inferior opponent.
Not to dogpile, but inferior in this case may be putting it delicately. The Mavs came into Monday night down essentially any player who could rebound the basketball against a conventional NBA center.
Starting Moussa Cisse at center with a committee of Cooper Flagg and Naji Marshall flanking him in the front court, the Mavericks were seemingly playing small ball even against the Wolves bench, a feat that seems nearly impossible.
It told you more about Dallas than it did the Wolves; for Julius Randle and Naz Reid, two players who have largely struggled to end possessions as a frontcourt duo off the bench to seamlessly end possessions from their first shift together on the floor, the tea leaves read a long night for Dallas early on in the game.
Shooting just 27 percent from three at halftime with nine turnovers to Dallas’ 11, the Wolves were still able to close the door relatively early with a 17-point halftime lead, largely due to stellar play from the aforementioned Reid.
The Wolves would go on to win by 24, and it became pretty quick that something more than just the basketball on the floor was continuing to happen. Naz Reid is starting to play like himself again after an offseason of unimaginable tragedy and a rocky start to the season, where a fan favorite didn’t quite seem like himself.
The last few games have been a much-needed rebound for Reid, who wore the name of his late sister Toraya around his arm on Monday.
Reid played by far his best game of the season, and buoyed a seemingly off-rhythm Wolves team to a win that felt like more of a celebration in the fourth quarter.
Nov 17, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) dribbles the ball as Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) plays defense in the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
After the last three games, the collective wonder of when Naz Reid was going to have one of his signature microwave scoring games off the bench in a win can be concluded.
With 22 points on an efficient 9-14 shooting, and tying his season high rebound total with 12, Reid was the jumpstart that an off-sync Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle needed from a scoring punch perspective.
“He got all [of his points] within the flow…then he made a couple of his signature tough ones in transition,” Chris Finch said afterward.
It felt like it had the makings of one of those games from Naz. With shooting struggles from the starters early outside of Donte DiVincenzo (the starters outside of him were 4-12 in the first quarter), the Wolves were never really in danger of losing; they just needed a bench spark in order to take care of business the way they were projected to as 14-point favorites.
“I try to be [the microwave scorer] every night,” Reid said after the game. “Just having that intensity and edge about our group…that’s how I became sixth man of the year…that was the philosophy, either we get the lead back or keep it going.”
Over the last three games, Naz is averaging 17.7 points on 56/47 shooting splits. Perhaps most importantly, he’s averaging 10 rebounds as well.
“When Naz makes two or three in a row, you definitely know it’s going to be one of those nights,” Donte DiVincenzo said after the game.
But the biggest test still remains. For much of the former Sixth Man of the Year’s career, Reid has struggled to remain consistent with his high peaks and extremely low valleys, sometimes becoming invisible on nights, and can get the water shut off against rangey wings that can hold their ground.
While Washington looms on Wednesday, how will he fare against an athletic team like the Phoenix Suns on Friday? Or can he become a knockout punch in a looming date with the Oklahoma City Thunder?
It all remains to be seen. But step one is seeing a vintage Naz Reid game, and we got that on Monday.
The run of games against inferior competition continues on Wednesday as the Wolves host the 1-12 Washington Wizards. A trend of beating up on bad teams this series continues to be a welcome one for a Wolves team that has notoriously struggled with doing so. But heading into Wednesday, the Wolves find themselves in a spot to keep figuring out who they are on both sides of the ball in preparation for a bigger test on Friday against Phoenix.
Tipoff on Wednesday against Washington is set for 7:00 PM CT.