In early November, the Timberwolves had a homestand in which they welcomed the Nuggets and Celtics.
They beat both the defending champions and the team that would go on to have the best record in the regular season, and those two games were the Wolves announcing to the league that their defense was a force.
The Wolves won both games on the strength of that defense, which vaulted to No. 1 in league rankings about as quickly as Mariah Carey songs hit the top of the Billboard charts in the 1990s.
Their defense showed its ceiling in those matchups, especially in the win over the Nuggets, whom they held to 89 points.