Minnesota was playing with fire through three quarters Tuesday in Minneapolis

Playing a Philadelphia 76ers team that played the night prior and was missing a number of key players, including stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, the Wolves largely struggled on both ends of the floor for the first 36 minutes of the affair. Energy and intensity were both low. The game was tied at 80-80 with seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Wolves were flirting with another potentially disastrous defeat, the likes of which they can ill afford in the race to grab a top-six seed and avoid the play-in tournament.

But the Wolves caught fire at the right time at Target Center. It started with a Mike Conley banked-in heave from half court to give Minnesota a 3-point advantage rolling into the final frame. The make seemed to remove the lid from the bucket, as the Wolves made their first five triple tries to open the fourth quarter to expand the lead to 14 in the blink of an eye en route to a 126-112 victory.

Philadelphia was led by 30 points from Quentin Grimes, a role player who has shined in a larger role of late. Grimes scored 44 points over the weekend in a 76ers win over Golden State. Kelly Oubre added 24 points for the 76ers (21-40), who are in severe danger of missing the Eastern Conference play-in tournament altogether.

Minnesota (34-29) featured a committee approach on offense. Naz Reid led the way with 23 points on the strength of five triples. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Donte DiVincenzeo had four made 3-pointers and eight assists. Jaden McDaniels had 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Mike Conley had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Wolves shot 57 percent from the field and 45 percent from distance.

“I think we came out here with purpose, played together, got a win,” Alexander-Walker said in his postgame, on-court television interview. “I think it’s a great time for us to to go on a run, stack wins.”

Tuesday’s win pushed Minnesota into eighth place in the West, a half-game clear of Sacramento.

Minnesota will play in Charlotte on Wednesday.