Minnesota Won on an Antonio Reeves Floater. The Bench Players Deserved That Spotlight.

Bones Hyland scored twenty-three and hit five threes, Ryan Conwell nearly carried Miami back, and Minnesota still needed a floater from Antonio Reeves with 2.3 seconds left to get out of there with a 125–124 win. That's preseason basketball I can actually enjoy. Not because the starters were playing for a championship, but because the guys trying to make an NBA rotation were playing like the minutes mattered.

You can tell somebody 'it's only October' all you want. That doesn't change what a young player is trying to prove. For some of these guys, ten good minutes in preseason can be the difference between staying in the conversation and watching somebody else take the roster spot.

This is what a preseason game should be for the bench

Minnesota sat most of the headline players. Miami did the same. So the matchup wasn't really Anthony Edwards against the Heat's established names. It was an extended evaluation for players who need a real opportunity.

Hyland scored his twenty-three points in just twenty-one minutes. He went 5-for-6 from deep, made all six free throws, stole the ball three times and didn't turn it over. That's an efficient scoring night, and he wasn't a complete passenger on the other end either.

Zyon Pullin scored twenty-two on 7-for-9 and went 8-for-8 from the line. Terrence Shannon Jr. gave Minnesota nineteen with six boards and four assists. And Joan Beringer finished with ten, seven rebounds and four blocks, plus a steal. He didn't need a bunch of plays called for him to affect the game.

Miami had a real response

The Heat were down 91–84 after three quarters and still put up forty points in the fourth. You don't do that by just jogging through the last twelve minutes. Ryan Conwell finished with twenty-two points and nine assists without a single turnover in more than thirty-two minutes. That's exactly the kind of line that'll make a coaching staff watch the film again.

Vladislav Goldin added eighteen, Nikola Jovic had sixteen, and Pelle Larsson finished with fourteen. Miami went 16-for-34 from three, compared with Minnesota's 14-for-34. They were making enough shots to win and creating enough pressure that the Wolves had to execute the last possession.

If I'm Miami, I can live with this kind of close preseason loss much easier than one where the team doesn't compete. The important thing is which young players can repeat these decisions and whether the defensive effort stays organized when the regular rotation comes back.

Then Reeves gave everybody the last highlight

Reeves only scored five points in twelve minutes. But one of his makes happened to be the floater that moved Minnesota ahead with 2.3 seconds on the clock. The whole game is funny like that. Hyland gets a headline because he had the most points, Conwell gets credit for the comeback, and the guy who scored five decides the final result.

A game winner doesn't automatically mean Reeves had the best night. It means he made the play that had to be made at that point. That's the beauty of having real competition at the end of an exhibition rather than everybody just standing there waiting to go home.

What I actually want the coaches to take from it

Minnesota has to figure out which reserves defend, which ones move without the ball and who can create offense when a star sits. Hyland's outside shooting was excellent, but he's not going 5-for-6 from three every time. Beringer's shot blocking and ability to make basic reads might be the more repeatable tool.

Miami can look at Conwell's nine assists without a turnover and ask whether that was a one-night exhibition or a sign he can really direct possessions. If the guy gets pushed up against better defenders, does he keep making the smart pass? That's how you figure out whether a young guard belongs.

I'm not handing out an All-Star spot because somebody played well on October 10. I'm saying this is exactly what preseason is for: show the coach something they can't ignore.

My take

When I saw 125–124, I expected the usual drama about which star carried the team. Instead I saw players who might not even get twenty minutes a night in the regular season busting their asses to show they deserve a chance.

Give Bones credit for the shooting. Give Conwell credit for making real plays. Give Beringer credit for protecting the paint. And give Reeves credit for walking up when somebody needed a basket and knocking that shit down.

Preseason isn't meaningless to the dudes fighting for their jobs. That's why these one-point games can be fun as hell.6ix / 6ixtv

That's the story I wanted this article to tell—not pretend the Timberwolves are suddenly better than Miami based on an exhibition, but respect the guys who gave us a real finish.

Actual game video and evidence