Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Miami Heat
Date: January 6th, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM CST
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: NBC, Peacock, FanDuel Sports Network – North
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio
The Minnesota Timberwolves remain undefeated in 2026, a stat we will continue milking until the basketball gods force us to stop.
What’s happened since the calendar flipped feels less like coincidence and more like a personality shift. The Wolves stumbled through the holidays playing a brand of basketball that could best be described as “vaguely present.” They were lethargic. They were unfocused. They were losing to inferior teams in embarrassing fashion. Brooklyn ran through them. Atlanta dismantled them. There was zero resistance, zero urgency, and the defense, once the identity of this team, simply disappeared.
Then January arrived and suddenly the Wolves hit the court like someone who just signed up for a gym membership at 12:01 a.m. on New Year’s Day: full of energy, purpose, and righteous determination.
First came the gritty win in South Beach. Then came the follow-up performance in Washington last night, where Minnesota refused to play with its food, dragged the Wizards behind the woodshed, and obliterated them. That game was functionally over by halftime and only grew more lopsided in the third, and fourth quarters. The Wolves smelled weakness and didn’t hesitate. They pounced. They stepped on the throat. They never let up.
That’s the version of this team Wolves fans have been begging for.
Because just like every New Year’s resolution, the danger isn’t starting strong, it’s sticking with it once the initial rush fades. The Heat roll into Target Center Tuesday night for a marquee NBC showdown, and you can guarantee they’re not flying north to admire Minnesota’s January vibes. They want revenge. They want to serve the Wolves a taste of their own medicine on their home floor.
And the Wolves? They have something tangible at stake.
The Western Conference has tightened into a full-blown traffic jam. Minnesota currently sits just half a game out of the three spot, tangled with the Lakers, Nuggets, Rockets, and Wolves in a four-car pileup for seeds three through six. San Antonio is sitting at number two, only 2.5 games ahead. If Minnesota handles Miami and takes care of business in the the upcoming home-and-home with Cleveland, suddenly Sunday’s looming showdown with the Spurs becomes a real chance to gain ground for that second rung below Oklahoma City.
That’s how fast things can shift in January.
But only if the Wolves keep playing like they have in 2026.
1. Maintain the New-Year Intensity
The Wolves beat Miami in South Beach because they out-worked them. Period. They chased loose balls. They controlled the glass. They attacked the rim. They defended the perimeter with purpose. They played grown-up basketball on a night when their jumper simply wasn’t cooperating.
They carried that same energy into Washington and turned the Wizards game into a non-event.
Now they’re back at Target Center for the first time since that abysmal Brooklyn performance, with a chance to reset the relationship with their home crowd. The effort cannot dip. The Heat are far too professional, too disciplined, and too well-coached to survive anything less than full engagement.
2. Continue Owning the Paint
Rudy Gobert has quietly returned to monster form.
The version we saw in the 2024-25 season, hampered by back issues, moving a half-step slow, is gone. December and early January have brought back the imposing, game-tilting Gobert: swallowing drivers, blocking shots, devouring rebounds, finishing lobs, cleaning up misses, and anchoring everything Minnesota wants to be defensively.
He isn’t getting the national love, but anyone watching the Wolves knows how transformative he’s been.
Miami has size. Bam Adebayo will always be a handful. But this is where Rudy, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid must dominate. Protect the rim. Eliminate easy looks. Make every possession in the paint miserable.
3. Play Unselfish, Pass-First Basketball
Saturday night in Miami looked nothing like late December. The Wolves zipped the ball around the floor, avoided the clunky iso-heavy offense that had started defining them, and consistently created high-quality looks.
That offensive flow must remain non-negotiable. Good shots for good shooters. Drive-and-kick. Trust the extra pass. This team is too talented to play slow, sticky basketball.
4. Stroke It from Deep and the Line
The Wolves didn’t shoot well from three in Miami and still won because they defended and hustled. But life becomes a lot easier when the shots start falling.
They did, however, fix one of their biggest recent problems: free-throw shooting. Minnesota reversed its December disaster at the stripe and made Miami pay. Defense plus shooting is the formula. When the Wolves do both, they’re terrifying.
5. Keep Your Head When Spoelstra Starts Cooking
Erik Spoelstra doesn’t quit. Late in the fourth in Miami, he unleashed full-court pressure and suddenly the Wolves were sweating. Turnovers crept in. Bad decisions surfaced. Wolves fans began experiencing traumatic flashbacks of Phoenix and Sacramento collapses.
Minnesota survived, but lessons from those few minutes of anxiety must be learned. Expect more wrinkles. More pressure. More traps. The Wolves must stay composed, value the ball, and keep their offensive structure intact.
6. Anthony Edwards Must Remain the Alpha
This is where it all comes together.
Edwards has been different since the late-December embarrassment. You can see it in his body language. In his defense. In his aggression. In the way he has set the emotional temperature of the group. There’s a real Jordan-esque edge emerging, that killer instinct that had flickered at times earlier in his career but now looks like it’s becoming permanent.
When Ant sets the tone, Minnesota becomes a very serious basketball team.
He needs to do it again Tuesday.
The Wolves played a war in South Beach and won it. They dismantled Washington the way good teams are supposed to. Now they get Miami again, on their floor, with the standings compressed and opportunity staring them in the face.
After months of turbulence, the Wolves somehow find themselves right there in the Western race. That’s the beauty of the NBA’s long season: disaster weeks don’t doom you if you respond correctly. The Wolves have been given a runway. Miami, Cleveland, and San Antonio will tell us exactly how real this 2026 version of Minnesota is.
New year.
New energy.
New chance to grab one of the West’s top seeds.
Now we find out if the Wolves can keep their resolution.
