Heading into Wednesday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a lot on the line.Since it was the only playoff play-in game of the final day of the season, they ran the risk of losing in front of their home crowd and thus denying their fans a much-needed postseason berth.In fact, the last time the Wolves had made the playoffs was in 2004, the longest drought in the entire NBA.Luckily for every NBA fan watching, the game was close throughout and even featured a dramatic overtime period. Both teams had a chance to win the game with seconds remaining in regulation, but couldn’t convert.In the end, the home crowd left happy.

En route to a 112-106 victory, Jimmy Butler posted 31 points with five rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes to lead the T-Wolves. Fellow All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns was dominant on the interior and dropped 26 points and 14 rebounds in a double-double effort. Andrew Wiggins had 18 points, five boards and three assists and hit the two most important free throws of his career to ice the game in overtime, putting his team up by four points and therefore two possessions.

Although Taj Gibson only put up eight points and six rebounds in 35 minutes, he was tasked with defending Nikola Jokic late in the game and did a phenomenal job with a very physical approach. Jokic couldn’t get comfortable with Gibson on him and the veteran even forced Jokic into perhaps the game’s most clutch turnover before the end of regulation.With just seconds left on the clock, Jokic received an inbounds pass and attempted to fade away for the game-winning shot in the corner. But, using his quick hands and instincts, Gibson was able to not only knock the ball away, but also corral it and call a timeout, setting up a game-winning attempt for Minnesota with 1.6 seconds left. Jamal Crawford missed the shot, but Gibson set up the opportunity.

Here’s what the scene looked like after the final whistle:

Butler, who had been extremely hard on his teammates, even calling them “soft” recently, was pleased with the way they handled the situation.

After the game, the Nuggets’ official Twitter account congratulated the Timberwolves, who will take on the Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

In the loss, Jokic had 35 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in 46 minutes while Will Barton dropped 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes and Jamal Murray had 20 points, six boards and six dimes in 43 minutes. But, in the end, they came up just short of capturing the eighth seed.

Although Denver now has to live with the disappointment of the loss, the team’s younger players will be able to learn from the experience of playing in such an important game. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves’ best times are likely ahead now that they got over hump and broke out of their playoff drought, especially since Towns and Wiggins most likely haven’t yet reached their prime years.

They’ll have a tall task ahead of them when they square off against the Rockets, who swept them in the regular-season series, but everyone starts the playoffs with a clean slate and the same record. Anything can happen.

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