The Timberwolves scored on eight consecutive possessions in the final five minutes of Thursday’s game to put away their victory over Houston.

Finally, the clutch-time offensive code was cracked.

Minnesota coach Chris Finch credited the willingness to attack early, good decision making and some impressive shot making from Anthony Edwards. But there was another critical part of the equation.

Thrice in the most critical span of Minnesota’s offensive explosion, the Rockets forced a miss on the opening shot of the possession. All three times, Minnesota grabbed the offensive rebound and eventually scored.

The Timberwolves tallied seven second-chance points in a three-minute span that saw the Wolves’ advantage grow from one point to 10.

Minnesota rode its new superpower to victory.

Finch noted one thing the Wolves coaching staff has been asking itself over and over again in recent weeks: what is something the team can repeatedly do well?

Offensive rebounding was the answer.

Finch went to players individually and asked them to attack the offensive glass with more frequency and purpose. He showed numerous clips in which there was no effort made in that department.

Prior to the calendar flipping to 2025, Minnesota was 19th in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage, grabbing just 28% of its misses. The Wolves were 22nd in offense as a whole.

Since Jan. 1, the Wolves are grabbing 32.9% of their misses, the fourth-best mark in the NBA. Minnesota is averaging 16.3 second-chance points per game, tied for fifth-most.

And the offense that was such an eyesore to open the campaign is averaging 119.7 points per possession, which ranks fifth.

Finch insinuated Minnesota is finally getting with the times. He said everyone in the association is attacking the offensive glass. He likened it to other league-wide shifts over the past five-plus years in which teams started to play faster and shoot more threes.

“If you’re not doing these things, you’ve got to play catch up somewhere else,” Finch said, “and it’s hard to do.”

Minnesota had 26 second-chance points in its victory over Houston, and a whopping 35 in Wednesday’s win agaist Chicago. Minnesota grabbed four offensive rebounds on its opening possession against Chicago before Jaden McDaniels finally canned a triple, causing Bulls coach Billy Donovan to call a timeout just 36 seconds into the bout.

Such dominance on the glass sets a tone of physicality and demoralizes the opponent.

“The more we do it, the better we are,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “We’ve got the guys to do it — Jaden, Naz, all these long, athletic guys. If we just keep pounding the glass, I think it’ll be good for us.”

Conley added that the added bodies on the offensive glass has also, in turn, slowed down opponents in transition.

“They’ve got to secure the rebound to run,” Finch said. “If you’re going in numbers, you can keep them penned in. It’s what a lot of teams do. You see it more and more.”

Early in the season, Minnesota’s success was largely dependent on shot making.

This year, the Wolves are shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range in wins, and 36.1 percent from deep in losses.

But the more of your own misses you can rebound, the less susceptible you are to shooting variance.

“At some point, it comes down to a possession game. If you can get a bunch of rebounds and shots up, whatever the case may be, that’s more possessions for yourself to, obviously, take the lead,” Reid said. “Extra possessions matter. They’re huge.”

And the Wolves are showing a willingness to secure them.

“Everybody just wants to win, I think,” Reid said. “Even for me, I’m just trying to find a way to impact the game, even if my shot is not falling. I’m trying to get double-doubles, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, whatever the case may be. I’m not just one dimensional. I think all of us kind of have that mindset.”