MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to win all three games on their recent road trip without Julius Randle playing his best basketball.

But if the Wolves are going to make a serious run in the playoffs again, they need the version of Randle who looked so comfortable in Minnesota last season to re-emerge over the last six weeks of the season.

Specifically, the version who was dominating with his bully-ball style and diving on the floor for loose balls in the fourth quarter of a 117-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night at Target Center.

Randle, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds, provided some important moments in the second half (eight points in the third quarter) while Anthony Edwards shut the door just enough on Memphis despite a late Grizzlies run.

When Edwards hit a 31-foot stepback 3 with 3 minutes, 39 seconds to play, the crowd was on its feet for an early celebration.

Edwards finished the night with 41 points, tying Lakers guard Luka Doncic for most 40-point games on the season with nine.

What it means

Kyle Anderson may play a significant role for this team moving forward.

Before the game, coach Chris Finch was asked if he was going to play Anderson, or if Anderson, who made his return to the Wolves from Memphis via the buyout market, would have the night off to get re-acclimated.

“He’ll play tonight,” Finch said matter-of-factly.

The certainty in his voice made it clear it wasn’t a matter of if Finch would find Anderson some minutes; Anderson was going to be in the rotation. He followed up on that by sending Anderson in late in the first quarter to a roaring ovation from the crowd of 17,416.

“We’re very comfortable, I think, in what he can do and how he fits into us,” Finch said. “We needed more connectors, more playmakers. We’ll put the ball in his hands. We treat him like a point guard and defensively, he gives us great versatility, switching, just intelligence, all that kind of stuff.”

Finch rolled Anderson out there for 13 minutes, and he finished with two points, one rebound. He officially didn’t take any field goal attempts and scored at the free-throw line. The amount of minutes Finch trusted Anderson with playing showed he may already be in the driver’s seat for the ninth man. He has always trusted Anderson’s playmaking and basketball IQ.

How it happened

The Wolves had no ball movement to start the game. Edwards had 12 points in the quarter on 4-for-8 shooting, but almost all of that shooting was self-created. Donte DiVincenzo was just 0 for 1.

Jaylen Wells opened the night 5 for 5 from the field for Memphis, who had a 32-23 lead after one. Memphis’ defense held the Wolves to just 9 for 23 from the field.

The Grizzlies kept an eight-to-11 point lead through much of the second quarter as the Wolves couldn’t make much of a dent in their lead until the fina minutes of the quarter, when the Wolves cut it to 59-57 before a Rayan Rupert 3 pushed Memphis’ lead to five.

Edwards finished the half with 21 for the Wolves, who were just 3 for 16 from 3 at the break. Ayo Dosunmu had four of the bench’s five field goals in the first half.

The Wolves finally wrested control of the game from Memphis in the third quarter as Randle overwhelmed the Grizzlies. Memphis was playing small, and when Randle scored eight in the quarter, GG Jackson (12 points, 11 rebounds) was on the bench. In all, it was an 18-5 Wolves run for an 80-75 lead. They would lead 89-82 entering the fourth.

Edwards then shut the door in th fourth with 13 points, even after the Wolves let a 17-point lead dwindle to four with 33 seconds left.

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