The Minnesota Timberwolves reached 30 wins on the season Thursday night by defeating a beaten-up Memphis Grizzlies ball club. The Timberwolves are the first team in the Western Conference to reach 30 wins on the year. With a 30-11 record at the midseason point, Minnesota is currently on pace to win 60 games, a monumental sign validating the win-now trades for Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. Conley’s arrival in Minnesota specifically signaled a massive turning point leading to the team’s success this season.

The 16-year veteran point guard has been outstanding all year long and at the end of games. On Thursday night, head coach Chris Finch called upon Conley to close the game out against his former team. Down the stretch, Conley paired with longtime teammate Rudy Gobert on several occasions in their dangerous side pick-and-roll. Behind Conley’s late-game decision-making, the Timberwolves took down the Grizzlies, 118-103. On the night, Conley poured in 17 points behind another great night in the efficiency department. Connecting on seven of his 11 shot attempts, the Wolves point guard continued his hot shooting.

In addition to scoring the basketball at a high clip, the savvy guard was dropping dimes left and right. Finishing the game with 10 assists, Conley found a way to post another double-double on a night where the Timberwolves needed all the contributions they could get. Thursday night marked the fifth time this season that Conley has recorded double-digit assist totals. The Timberwolves in those five games, well, they’re 5-0.

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Postgame, Finch was asked about Conley’s assist numbers and if it’s a byproduct of being called upon to playmake more often. Finch confirmed this by stating, “Yeah, absolutely. I think so. Once we finally find something that’s working, we try to go to it. We obviously always like the ball in Mike’s hands coming down the stretch.”

Thursday night was another prime example of the value Conley provides to a Timberwolves team that often relies on him to generate good looks. Some nights that’s with him looking to score, other nights that’s feeding other guys at the right time. Thursday night, it was a heavy dose of both in their strong fourth-quarter showing at home against the Grizzlies.