If you listened closely to Target Center on Monday night, you could hear a collective exhale from every single person in the building.

In a big game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers, dubbed the “AE1” night to celebrate the release of a new colorway of its wildly successful shoe, the night was really all about the Number 5 was supposed to rotate, in the end only number 13 was on the bench, literally (we had Luka Garza minutes).

In fact, it would be fair to say that it was the furthest thing from dealing with Anthony Edwards To the floor.

In an incredibly rocky first quarter for both sides (LA shot 35 percent from the field while the Wolves shot 28 percent from three), Edwards pressed the issue early and often to no avail. He turned the ball over three times on his own in the early stages and shot 2:6 from the field. That set the stage for a poor night for his side, but others stepped up for him to get the team on the offensive early.

It was urgently needed. LeBron James was struggling, Anthony Davis was surprisingly able to stay in check (4-14 from the field) and the Lakers were without Austin Reaves and had a meeting in Utah with a time zone change.

It was an opportunity for the Wolves to show their growth and not retreat into their mediocre, uninspired ways.

The starting signal for this game at the Minnesota end came from none other than his namesake Mike Conley. Conley started brightly from beyond the arc, hitting three of his first four three-point shots. It was a much-needed boost from a starting lineup and a team that had failed to knock down jump shots, a huge early bugbear and the reason for many offensive woes.

Conley’s quick start radiated to the bench and helped close out the game.

The Wolves held a 12-point lead for much of the second and third quarters. Comfortable, but enough to have thoughts of past games still lingering in the back of your mind and feel like the Lakers are hanging around. Another game like the Kings, the Raptors or your choice, really.

A game that wasn’t meant to be lost, but had the potential to be stolen if the door wasn’t slammed.

N.B.A

But what was started by Conley and the first unit was finished by a second unit that had so many players that needed to get back on track, and they did.

It was simply and objectively outstanding basketball viewing.

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Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

A little help from the bank

Chris Finch summed it up after the game.

“The whole bench played really well.”

A group that had struggled to get on the same page and was viewed as the strength of this team at the start of the season and had not lived up to the hype began to shine and ultimately carried the team home.

To put it in perspective, here are a few plus/minus numbers from the group:

• Donte DiVincenzo: +21
• Naz Reid: +22
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker: +14
• Josh Minott: +11 (8 minutes, saw some notable game action)

DiVincenzo in particular was particularly good. He struggled to play point guard early in the season due to turnovers and an inability to be on par with the other four on the court. He was particularly good in two-man games with Reid and in a mix-and-match lineup with Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert.

“He did a really good job starting our break,” Finch said. “His decision making was really good tonight. Get away quickly and find the open man.”

I’m not ready to make a statement that DiVincenzo is actually the point guard of the bench unit moving forward.

For that to happen, he needs to be more consistent in this line, and Rob Dillingham needs to find minutes in this rotation because he’s just too good to keep giving him DNPs. It was far too ugly from DiVincenzo for multiple games in a row for a performance to make up for it, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction and especially important that it came on a night when Dillingham wasn’t available.

This is the formula for the Wolves’ continued victory. A good, but not great, starting unit and a backup team that can outrun almost every single team in the league.

“That was the key (to Utah’s success),” Rudy Gobert explained in the locker room. “We have the luxury of having a lot of people who would start but don’t start.”

It’s torture trying to get through every single round with good players on the field. Just ask the Denver Nuggets if Nikola Jokic checks out.

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Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

Emptying the notebook

• I think that the “vibe checks” can sometimes be a bit overrated due to the frequency with which they can move from game to game during an 82-game season. My feeling in the locker room after the game was much better than in previous wins in terms of overall team chemistry. People smiled. Boys were happy. This all comes with time, especially with new players. “People are in a good place mentally – a lot of things were said in the locker room with great intention and meaning,” Finch confirmed. Time and victory heal everything. Only one of these is inevitable.
• D’Angelo Russell had a really nice game in his old venue. Watching him for years, it’s pretty rare that he has one of those hyper-efficient games and his team loses, but tonight was one of them. He finished with 20 points on 8-12 shooting (4-5 from three).
• Rudy Gobert was really, really good. As if everything was working for him. He finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds and it felt like the first “Rudy” game where he completely dominated both ends. A spin move in the post for a dunk felt like a fever dream, but it happened.
• Terrence Shannon Jr. I’m still most fascinated by everyone in the squad. He reminds me a lot of Shaedon Sharpe, with a slightly lower ceiling but more polish to his game. He suffered another casualty in the paint late in the fourth tonight.

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Next

The Wolves head to California for a West Coast road trip. They kick off against the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday before facing the Golden State Warriors twice this weekend.

The Clippers suffered a disastrous last-minute loss to the Wolves last Friday night that ended up costing them a game they probably could have won with proper time management. You will soon have a chance for revenge.

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Highlights