All indicators pointed towards Wednesday night being smooth sailing.
The Washington Wizards came in with a lowly 1-12 record, and it was shaping up to be 1-13 at halftime with the Minnesota Timberwolves up by 25. Pack it up and head home, it’s a school night, right?
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Not so fast!
In case you got in a fight in the stands and got knocked out at halftime, somehow waking up with 3:52 left in the fourth quarter, you would notice that the 25 point lead evaporated to five, and were likely just as confused as the thousands of other people around you.
Nothing at the start would have indicated incoming problems. Anthony Edwards started out hot with 12 first quarter points, Julius Randle was getting to his spots and getting to the free throw line, and Naz Reid kept his run of hot games rolling with 23 points in the first half, on pace for his career high.
All without Jaden McDaniels, it the midst of a career year, and snapping his iron man streak of 157 straight games played.
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But Washington made an adjustment at halftime to trap more in the paint. What became easy spots to get to in the first half for Randle and Edwards in the first half quickly became harder to come by. It forced pass outs to the perimeter and a Wolves team that was already struggling to shoot the basketball to let it fly from deep. Towards the end of the first, the Wolves were shooting 33 percent from the field, and finished the game on a similar note from deep (34 percent).
The Wizards plan was simple. We will do everything to keep you from bleeding us dry in the paint with your two best players.
While it rattled a cold-shooting Wolves team that was stagnant from a ball movement perspective in the third quarter (the Wolves hot 35 percent from the field and 12 percent from three in the quarter), they would go on to find solutions in the fourth in attacking the glass and putting more energy into the ball.
As he’s been doing all season, Julius Randle was the prime suspect later in the game in carrying the Wolves through to the finish. Randle went 4-6 from the field in the final period and was able to get to the line and use the Wizards aggressive approach in the paint to his advantage.
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Randle finished with a 32 point double-double.
While ghosts of two seasons ago looked to be upon Target Center on Wednesday night in letting the rope go against a bad Wizards team down Alex Sarr, they ultimately fended them off and continued their run of beating who they should.
Now, for the latter challenge: beating a team at or above their level.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 19: Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves talks to the media after winning the game against the Washington Wizards on November 19, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
The 2025-26 Julius Randle Experience
The goosebumps are actually happening every time this season.
No, he didn’t play well against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. But outside of that, Julius Randle has had pretty close to a flawless season. If it wasn’t for him on Wednesday night, this article is recapping the most embarrassing loss of the season by a long shot.
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“He’s always had the license to play free,” coach Chris Finch said after the game. “He knows right where he’s trying to get to, and we’ve done a good job of getting him the ball in his spots where he can really create and score.”
The Wolves did that to a degree last year, but to less success of seeing the ball go back to other players in the lineup. While Randle’s all-NBA-esque season has rolled on, the stark difference remains his ability to get others involved, which is imperative at getting the Wolves out of jams like they were in tonight.
His assist numbers are up from last season drastically; just third on the team before the all-star break last year in averaging 4.5 assists per game, Randle has opened the season leading the Wolves in that category, notching just over six per night.
“It’s more about understanding what’s going on on the floor and making quick decisions,” Randle explained after the game in being asked if he’s noticed that he’s being guarded any different. Randle went on to explain that playing on the move and playing at a slightly higher pace has helped with things, more so than playing a stickier brand of iso ball (which is something they did often last year before figuring it out later in the season).
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However fast or slow this team plays moving forward will largely be up to Randle in finding his groove throughout games to initiate offense as he has been.
If the pattern keeps up? At a minimum, he’ll find himself at the Intuit Dome over the All-Star break in February.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 19: Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves high fives a staff member during the game against the Washington Wizards on November 19, 2025 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Emptying the Notebook
1). It’s been a brutal stretch for Anthony Edwards, and Wednesday night was no exception to the rule. Especially after a first quarter in which it looked like it was going to be a trademark game from Edwards, he fizzled out as the game went on. Not getting his shot to fall often, most of his points were come by in the paint earlier on, and he seemed to move away from that, and not be able to finish when he tried to get back to it late in the game. He finished the game 2-8 in the second half from the field with just four points. Over the last three games, he’s averaging 19 points on just 33 percent shooting from the field and eight (8!!) percent from three.
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2). It seems like Rob Dillingham is out of confidence in his jumpshot, and it’s fair to say at this point in the season that he has regressed from last. His effort level defensively is actually really solid, but Dillingham continued to struggle shooting the basketball against Washington, with the nadir of the experience passing up a wide open three from the wing, to which Donte DiVincenzo promptly returned the basketball to him and urged him to take the shot. It resulted in his fifth miss of the night, and was subed out shortly after for Mike Conley’s return to the game.
At first, it seemed like consistent minutes while Terrence Shannon Jr. missed time was going to be the answer for Dillingham. If he played poorly one night, he at least had minutes the next nigh to correct things. As of now, it’s getting to the point where another elongated stretch on the bench for him with Shannon’s impending return might be a good thing to rebuild his confidence for the next time his number is called.
Up Next
The Wolves will end their homestand and head south to take on the Phoenix Suns for their third NBA Cup group stage game of the season. It poses to be a tougher test than the Wizards, with Phoenix looking to have true play-in team potential, sitting at seventh in the Western Conference.
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The Wolves set up well to advance from group play in the cup, but the real challenge in their group stage schedule lies in the two finale games, both in the desert and in Oklahoma City.
Tipoff on Friday is at 8:00 PM CST.
Highlights