Don’t look now, but the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been largely written off for the better part of this season, are looking like a team that could once again pose real playoff problems a year after making their Western Conference finals run.

With a 118-111 win over the Magic on Friday, the Wolves have now won seven straight games as they set their sights on a top-six playoff seed. With 14 games remaining, Minnesota currently owns the No. 7 seed but is just one game back of the No. 6 Warriors.

The Warriors do own the tiebreaker, however, so that lead is effectively two games.

Golden State is also one of the hottest teams in the league, but Minnesota is keeping it from creating any distance for that last guaranteed playoff spot by shooting the leather off the ball. During this seven-game win streak, the Wolves are pacing the league with over 18 made 3-pointers per game at better than a 42% clip (also tops in the league).

Anthony Edwards has been making 3s all season, and he has continued to do so at better than 40% on almost 10 attempts per game during the streak, but it’s the support staff that has really caught fire. Check out these 3-point numbers in March:

Mike Conley: 58% (14 for 24)
Donte DiVincenzo: 51% (27 for 53)
Jaden McDaniels: 45% (13 for 29)
Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 42% (11 for 26 over last six)
Naz Reid: 42% (18 for 43 over last six)
Conley was basically categorized as washed six weeks ago. DiVincenzo, who was seen by many as the key to the Karl-Anthony Towns trade working because of the spacing he could help replicate, couldn’t make a thing to start the season but has now cashed at least three 3s in 11 of his last 13 games and multiple 3s in all 13. He’s averaging over four per game in March, and that’s the kind of weaponry he was supposed to provide all along. It makes Minnesota an entirely different team.

And we still haven’t gotten to Julius Randle, who, if you’re sensing a theme here, was also derided for his play for much of the season. But lookie here … the Wolves have won 12 consecutive games with Randle in the lineup. He’s 16 for his last 25 from the field and is shooting well over 50% during this streak.

More importantly, Randle is connecting the Wolves. He’s always been a better passer than his isolation-scorer reputation has suggested, and he’s really doing damage getting into the paint and facilitating to shooters at over six assists per night in March.

It’s true, Minnesota’s schedule has been quite soft during this run with wins over Phoenix, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Miami, San Antonio and now Orlando. But mixed in there is a 20-point win over the Nuggets, whom the Wolves eliminated from last year’s playoffs and have gone 3-0 against this season.

Minnesota also took two out of three against Oklahoma City last month. This is a team that can really bottle you up defensively; Rudy Gobert is still a nightmare to finish over for opposing guards, and we know about the first line of defense with Minnesota’s wings. That kind of defense with a 1A scorer like Edwards is going to equal a playoff problem for someone.

If the offense continues like this around Edwards, the Warriors are going to have to remain smoking hot to fend off the Wolves down the stretch, and even if they have to play their way into the No. 7 seed, as of Saturday that would mean a first-round matchup with the Nuggets, who, again, we know they can handle. Indeed, things are looking up for Minnesota.

Jamal Murray has been back to his typical All-Star ways (even if he’s never actually made the team) for a while now, and there can be no greater evidence of that than yet another game-winning shot against the Lakers.

On Friday night, the Lakers played the Nuggets better than anyone could have expected with both LeBron James and Luka Dončić out, but in the waning seconds Murray broke a 126-all tie with a 3-pointer made possible by Nikola Jokić taking out two defenders with one screen.

Lakers fans don’t have to think back too far to recall the last two game-winners Murray hit on them, with both of them coming in last year’s playoffs. First, Murray closed Game 2 with a rainbow fall-away jumper over Anthony Davis. Then he ended the Lakers’ season in Game 5.

These are daggers in every sense. No, Friday’s shot wasn’t in a playoff game, but it could have big-time implications on the playoff race as the Nuggets and Lakers both continue to jockey for seeding.

Denver holds onto the No. 2 seed with the win, one game up in the loss column on No. 3 Houston, No. 4 Memphis and the Lakers at No. 5. Had the Lakers won this game, they would’ve moved into the 2-seed. Below Oklahoma City, that’s how tight things are in the Western Conference. Almost every game swings something.

Instead, the Lakers have lost four straight, three without LeBron, and are now just three games up on the No. 6 Warriors, who are smoking hot and have one of the easiest schedules down the stretch. Yes, that three-game lead should be pretty safe considering the Lakers have clinched the tiebreaker over Golden State, making the lead an effective four games with 17 to play, but nothing can be certain until LeBron makes his way back onto the court.

Until then, the Lakers are just trying to tread water to at least keep themselves in the hunt for a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the first round. They still have one more game against the Nuggets next Wednesday, which could literally decide whether or not they match up in the first round depending on how this all finishes up.

It’s unlikely that LeBron will be back by then, meaning the Lakers will have another uphill fight on their hands. If they are able to keep it close again — perhaps due to another brilliant performance from Austin Reaves, who finished Friday’s loss with 37 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and four steals — all they can hope for is to keep the ball the hell out of Murray’s hands in the final seconds. They’ve officially seen that movie too many times.

The NBA has opened an investigation into whether or not the Oklahoma City Thunder violated the league’s player participation policy (PPP) during a 107-89 win at home over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 7, according to ESPN.

During the game in question, the Thunder sat their entire starting five, as well as key reserve Cason Wallace, against the lottery-bound Blazers. Here was the injury report for the game:

Shai Gilgeous Alexander: Out (Rest)
Cason Wallace: Out (Knee)
Jalen Williams: Out (Wrist)
Luguentz Dort: Out (Right Patellofemoral Soreness)
Chet Holmgren: Out (Lower Leg)
Isaiah Hartenstein: Out (Nasal Fracture)
All but Holmgren played in the team’s prior game on March 5, a win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and all six suited up in the team’s next game, a win over the Denver Nuggets on March 9.

Thunder vs. Celtics takeaways: Why OKC forced Boston into historic 3-point barrage in possible Finals preview
Sam Quinn
Thunder vs. Celtics takeaways: Why OKC forced Boston into historic 3-point barrage in possible Finals preview
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, the league implemented a new PPP aimed at combating load management and ensuring that stars were more frequently available, particularly for national TV games. Here were the key mandates:

Rest no more than one star player from a game. (For purposes of the restrictions, a “star player” is defined as someone who has been an All-Star or an All-NBA selection in any of the past three seasons. It also will impact for the balance of the schedule players named to that season’s All-Star teams.)
Make star players available for nationally televised games and In-Season Tournament games.
Balance the number of one-game “rest” absences a star player accrues in home games vs. road games, with a recommendation that a player more often sit out at home.
Refrain from any long-term “shutdown” when a star stops participating in games or appears only in a materially reduced role that could affect the integrity of the game.
Have any healthy players resting for a game present and visible to fans.
The Thunder have two “star players” under that criteria: Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, who was named to his first All-Star Game this season. Both sat out against the Blazers, and Gilgeous-Alexander was officially listed as a rest day. Thus, the league is likely looking into whether Williams had a legitimate issue with his wrist.

Earlier this month, the Utah Jazz were fined $100,000 for violating the league’s PPP for their handling of Lauri Markkanen, who missed numerous games for “injury management” with a lower back issue. Immediately following the fine, Markkanen was in the lineup for the team’s next game.

If the league deems the Thunder to have broken the rules, they would receive a $100,000 fine as well, which is the punishment for the first violation.