The Minnesota Timberwolves' turnaround from their disappointing 2022-23 season has been quite remarkable. Panned by many for their over-eager trade for Rudy Gobert, which many believe was an overpay, the Timberwolves have now found a way to make the oddball twin-tower pairing of Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns work. They continued their strong play on Thursday night, securing a 119-101 victory over the Dallas Mavericks to move to 18-5 on the season — the best in the Western Conference.

And it seems like the young Timberwolves team is learning how to settle things down from veterans like Gobert and Mike Conley. As Alan Horton of Wolves Radio pointed out, the Timberwolves have now won 18 consecutive games in which they have taken a lead in the fourth quarter.

Timberwolves fans were in awe of this development. After all, it wasn't that long ago when the team, led by a younger Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, was susceptible to late-game comebacks. During the 2022 NBA playoffs, that was the case. There were plenty of times where the Timberwolves would take a commanding lead over the Memphis Grizzlies and blow them inexcusably.

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The most damning example of that came in Game 3 of the aforementioned playoff series between the Timberwolves and the Grizzlies. Minnesota took a 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of that game. But due to crucial turnovers, poor late-game execution, and overall lack of experience, the Timberwolves blew that lead, losing 104-95 in the end.

Their proneness to choking did not stop there. They also took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter of Game 5 of that series with a chance to go up 3-2. However, the lights were too bright, and the Timberwolves were unable to recover in what ended up being a six-game series defeat.

Now, the Timberwolves have evidently learned from the mistakes of their past. Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert have helped, of course, but Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards are also much wiser. Now, Minnesota looks the part of a legitimate title contender. If they continue finishing games off the way they've done so far this season, then don't be surprised if they play deep into June.