Julius Randle’s “welcome to Minnesota” moment came early Sunday evening at Target Center, courtesy of himself.

With the Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns knotted at 117-117 and Minnesota inbounding with 2.7 seconds to play, Randle received the inbounds pass after Phoenix junked up the play by switching all matchups.

“I knew I had about three seconds left to get to my right-hand stepback,” Randle said. “That was it.”

Indeed, Randle was guarded with the smaller Josh Okogie glued to him. But Randle shucked the wing in the same way Michael Jordan “escorted” Byron Russell to a different spot on the floor in the in the 1998 NBA Finals. Okogie embellished the contact, flying to the floor. But the refs swallowed their whistles, leaving Randle with an open shot at the horn.

“He couldn’t even get a contest because he had fell,” Randle said. “So I was like, just staying in it, take my time and get a good shot. I’ve taken that shot a thousand times.”

Make it 1,001.

Randle drilled the winner at the horn to give Minnesota a 120-117 victory and sent the home crowd into a state of euphoria. Randle immediately ran across the floor to meet his family. He noted his youngest son rarely attends games but was courtside Sunday.

“For him to be here and hit the shot,” Randle said, “it’s pretty cool.”

As he was running across the floor, his teammates were in close pursuit to join in on the celebration.

“Really, the fun part is to see all my teammates celebrate. That’s just how it’s felt from Day 1,” Randle said. “Everybody is all the way in together, a very connected group and we all celebrate each other’s success. To me, that’s the best part.”

The Wolves were likely both excited and relieved. Phoenix was without Brad Beal and Kevin Durant on Sunday. Without that pair, the Suns entered Sunday having lost their last two games by a combined 39 points. They simply don’t possess much firepower at the moment.

But the Suns (9-5) delivered the first blow in the matinee, charging out to a 10-2 lead before Minnesota was aware the contest had started. And Phoenix held onto control for much of the contest. The Suns led by 11 points in the final frame.

But Minnesota’s “second” unit — flush with starting caliber players — pulled Minnesota back into the contest, as the Wolves started blitzing Devin Booker — who scored 44 points in the game — to get the ball out of his hands and make other Phoenix players beat them. They couldn’t and the Wolves were back in business.

The stage was set for more late-game theatrics.

As has been the case thus far this season, Minnesota’s offense in the closing minutes was a steady dose of Anthony Edwards and Randle. After those two scored Minnesota’s final 12 points of overtime against Sacramento on Friday, the duo scored 13 of the Wolves’ final 15 points on Sunday.

Randle finished with 35 points on the day to go with seven assists and four rebounds.

“We trust him in these situations. We know he’s capable of making tough shots, clutch shots. He’s done it his whole career. Just another weapon for us,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “Yeah, after a tough night, being able to finish on a play like this, for him and for us, it’s amazing. I saw him looking at his son courtside after the shot, I think those moments are moments that you never forget.”

Perhaps it’s a turning point in the season for the Wolves (8-6).

They were not good defensively again Sunday and have the look of a team still very much attempting to find its way early in the NBA season. But the last two games are prime examples of the team finding ways to win amid the ugliness. And, by year’s end, all victories count the same.

“That’s what I’m most proud of, really. Guys found a way to hang in there,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “It’s a little bit of a microcosm of our season so far. We just got to find a way to keep battling and eeking out some results until we can catch the rhythm that we know is there.”

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