Wolves reach conference finals brimming with talent and tenacity in quest for first NBA championship

DENVER (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves reached the Western Conference finals brimming with talent, trust and tenacity after staging the biggest Game 7 comeback since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data 28 years ago.

The Wolves trailed the Denver Nuggets by 15 points at halftime Sunday night and by 20 points just over a minute into the third quarter.

With the crowd rocking Ball Arena, the Timberwolves didn’t flinch. They doubled down on their dogged defense and roared back for the most monumental victory in the franchise’s 35-year history.

They did it behind a terrific transition game and an unwavering superstar in Anthony Edwards for a stunning 98-90 victory over the reigning NBA champions.

The Wolves will face the Dallas Mavericks beginning Wednesday night at Target Center.

“The fans have been waiting for this moment, and this team has brought them this moment,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, adding that it certainly wasn’t lost on him that Sunday marked Minnesota all-time great Kevin Garnett’s 48th birthday.

“Shoutout to KG, happy birthday, KG,” Towns said. “Here’s your present from all of us.”

Garnett led Minnesota to its first conference finals 20 years ago. The Wolves lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in 2004 and Garnett never made it back to the postseason before leaving for Boston, where he won an NBA title in 2008.

The Wolves would miss the playoffs 16 times in the next 17 years, making it only in 2018, when they lost in the first round to Houston.

Things began to turn around for the Timberwolves when they drafted Edwards No. 1 overall in 2020. They made it back to the postseason party the following year, losing to Memphis in Round 1.

After hiring head coach Chris Finch off Michael Malone’s staff in Denver, the Timberwolves hired away the Nuggets’ roster architect Tim Connelly, who built the Wolves explicitly to unseat his former team in Denver.

Connelly’s first major move was a bold get of Rudy Gobert that was as risky as it was unconventional — he sent five players and five picks to Utah for the star defender — but going big was no small part of this breakthrough season for the Timberwolves.

“I think when Tim Connelly made that trade,