The Timberwolves were well on their way to another disappointing performance on Friday in Houston.

Fresh off a Christmas Day victory in Dallas, Minnesota was getting outplayed by a more physical and athletic Rockets team through the game’s first 44 minutes. Houston had effectively run Minnesota off the floor. The Rockets had 16 offensive rebounds and 66 points in the paint.

The Wolves trailed 108-93 with 4:10 to play.

And then chaos ensued.

Minnesota finished the game on a 20-4 run, capped by an Anthony Edwards dagger 3-pointer off the bounce from the corner with 20 seconds to play to steal a 113-112 victory in Houston.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters Edwards’ shot “looked good right away,” likening it to a key shot the guard hit in a win in Sacramento earlier this season.

“It’s his rhythm, two bounces, gets to that lefty step back,” Finch said. “He’s got so much strength and balance on it, so it really did look good.”

Edwards’ take: “(My defender) cut me off. I’m like, ‘(shoot), I’m going for the win,’” he said in his post game, on-court television interview. “Like Gilbert Arenas said, ‘I don’t do overtime, so (bleep) it.’”

The end of the game featured Houston missing shots, Minnesota running the other way and the Rockets — who played Thursday in New Orleans — simply not having the energy to even bother to get in the Wolves’ way. It was eerily similar to the vibe of the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals a year ago in Denver, with the same joyous result for Minnesota.

Minnesota got off to another slow offensive start, scoring just 22 points in the first frame despite hot shooting from Edwards.

But, as has frequently been the case of late, Minnesota found its footing in the middle of the game. The Wolves exploded for 35 points in the second quarter, thanks in large part to the sharp shooting of Donte DiVincenzo.

The reserve has struggled with his outside shot for much of the season, but found it in the second quarter Friday. He knocked down four triples in that frame alone. DiVincenzo finished the night 6 of 10 from deep. The Wolves led by five at the break.

And the wheels fell off in the third. Minnesota scored just 11 points over the final nine minutes of the third quarter as Houston led by eight after three. And Minnesota simply couldn’t get stops in the fourth. Finch cycled through one lineup combination after another. Finally, Minnesota found a scoring, pace-based lineup that took advantage of Houston’s fatigue.

Still, it looked like Houston would have enough to hold Minnesota off. But Alperen Sengun — who led the Rockets with 38 points and 12 rebounds — missed multiple free throws in the final minute and Edwards came through with the difficult hit when Minnesota needed it most. He scored 24 points, while Julius Randle paced Minnesota with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

It was getting a little more gritty on defense, getting a little more into the ball, and then keeping them to one shot,” Finch told reporters. “We really looked for each other, got clean looks and shared the ball in the right way instead of trying to take it all on by ourselves.”

There are still issues to address. While the late rally pushed the Wolves over 110 points in regulation for the first time in 16 tries, Minnesota can’t continue to experience the same lengthy scoring droughts in games and expect to get away with it. Turnovers were again an issue Friday. Still, Finch said he likes the Wolves’ current rhythm. And wins like Friday can galvanize a group in short order.

“This was a big win, I’m not going to lie,” Edwards said on the court. “We showed poise, we showed everything tonight. Man, I’m super happy.”

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