Timberwolves fall to Pacers 132-130 in overtime to end winning streak

Jerry Zgoda, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Mar 17, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves’ winning streak ended at eight games Monday night at Target Center with a 132-130 overtime loss to depleted Indiana.

The same team that hadn’t lost since Feb. 28 finally succumbed to the Pacers and forward Obi Toppin, who made seven 3-pointers, including the winner with 3.5 seconds left.

Toppin scored 34 points and was 7 for 10, while Wolves All-Star Anthony Edwards scored 38 but was 1 for 11 on 3s.

The Pacers and Wolves each led by four points in the final four minutes, but Jaden McDaniels’ 3-pointer — his only of the night — tied the game at 115 in the final minute. The Wolves had a chance to win it after a timeout, but Edwards’ 3 of his own missed just before the buzzer.

In overtime, the Wolves led 126-123 with as little as 1:22 remaining, but the Pacers seemingly responded with 3 after 3 until they took a 129-128 lead with 26.6 seconds.

The Pacers made 17 3s to the Wolves' 13 all night.

The Wolves’ eight consecutive victories was three shy of a franchise-record 11, which was won consecutively between mid-January and mid-February in 2001. It also was their longest since nine won in March and April in 2004, when Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell reached the Western Conference finals and Garnett won league MVP.

The Wolves arrived at Target Center with that eight-game winning streak, looking for nine consecutive against an injured Pacers team missing four starters and its biggest stars: Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith.

Only starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard remained standing, but he started and played out of position at point guard to fill Haliburton’ absence.

The Wolves hadn’t lost a game since doing so on Feb. 28 at Utah, when they lost without suspended Edwards and injured Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle.

Finch credited those eight consecutive victories to the team’s “mental readiness to play despite the circumstance or our opponent.”

“It’s right where it needs to be,” Finch said. “We try to frame all these games in a way that resonates with our guys and what it might mean, you know? Guys have taken to that a little bit.”

The game turned contentious in the third quarter when both Nembhard and Gobert were ejected after Nembhard struck Wolves veteran guard Mike Conley aside the head as Nembhard drove by with the ball. Gobert responded by a hard shoulder block on Nembhard, who then threw the ball at Gobert’s back.

Gobert received a Flagrant 2 foul, and Nembhard was called for his second technical foul of the night.

That all came four minutes into the second half with the Pacers leading 66-58.

The entire sequence was reviewed by video before the punishments were handed out.

The game rolled and rollicked throughout the third quarter, with the lead exchanging. The Wolves led by five points with little more than five minutes left in the quarter to the Pacers leading by a bucket.

The Wolves took a 87-85 lead after three quarters.

The Wolves led 7-2 early but were tied 30-30 at first quarter’s end and then outscored 30-16 in the second quarter alone even with those Pacers starters out and the Wolves with Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Gobert all back from recent injuries and back in the rotation.

The Pacers closed the first half with a 16-7 run after they started making some 3-pointers and outshooting the Wolves 51% to 37.8% from the field.

Toppin led the Pacers with 13 points and five rebounds before halftime, while Nembhard and Thomas Bradley each scored 10.

Earlier Monday, Edwards was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for last week, when he averaged 32.7 points on 47.7% shooting, including 38.2 from 3-point distance in three games. All were wins, of course.

It was his second career Player of the Week honor (the first was Nov. 13, 2023), and he’s the fifth player in franchise history to be named so twice. The others: Kevin Garnett, Karl-Anthony Towns, Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.

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