Naz Reid and Bones Hyland Provide a Much-Needed Spark for Timberwolves

The Timberwolves got back to looking like themselves on Monday night in a 108-83 win over the Warriors that snapped Minnesota's five-game losing streak. The Wolves, sans Anthony Edwards, did what they were supposed to do on both ends of the floor against a Golden State team missing Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and several other rotation players.

To some extent, there's not too much that can be learned from a game where the Warriors were so severely shorthanded. But if there's one thing that can be taken away from Monday's contest and potentially applied to the future, it's the impact that Naz Reid and Bones Hyland are capable of providing off of the bench.

Reid scored 15 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, picked up 3 steals, and was a game-high plus-30 in his 25 minutes on Monday. He also delivered one of the more vicious dunks of his career. Hyland scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He was a plus-19. It was a balanced scoring night for the Timberwolves, but the spark from Reid and Hyland really seemed to change the game in the second quarter.

Reid was coming off a very unusual performance on Sunday night in a loss to the Warriors. He was held scoreless in 25 minutes in that game. It was just the second time he's ever been scoreless in at least 10 minutes of action, with the previous instance coming all the way back in January 2020 when he was a rookie. This was a return to the norm for Reid, who had scored at least 17 points in six of his first ten healthy games in January.

"Just going back to my brand of basketball, playing really hard," Reid said. "Scoring the ball, rebounding, playing for my teammates."

"Other than last night, which was a complete aberration for him, he's been playing at a really high level," head coach Chris Finch said.

BIG JELLY WITH THE JAM

🍇🍇🍇🍇🍇🍇 pic.twitter.com/9R2b4di2Xl
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 27, 2026

This is nothing new for Reid, the former Sixth Man of the Year who has a chance to win that award for a second time this season. What's been an encouraging development this season is the play of Hyland. He's had some lulls — most recently scoring just 17 total points in the Wolves' five-game losing streak — but Monday showed what he's capable of when he plays aggressively.

Hyland got himself going late in the first quarter with a couple layups in transition, where he showed off his elite speed. He then hit a pair of threes in the second quarter to help stretch the lead.

"Coming in, playing aggressive, playing fast, just being myself out there," Hyland said. "I feel like I got back to that. Get in transition, got myself going with that. Once I get myself going like that, it's like a snowball effect."

Finch called Hyland's night "huge" for the Wolves. "Not just the production, which was great, but also just the pop that he played with. I liked his defense, too. Thought his defense was really good. We gotta have those performances on a nightly basis, to be honest with you."

Bones Hyland 17 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 6/9 FG, 3/4 3FG, 79% TS vs Warriors https://t.co/p3eu0WNkKA pic.twitter.com/ObGOF5Cb4B
— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) January 27, 2026

A lot of Reid and Hyland's production in this game and in previous games has come when sharing the floor together. In 351 minutes together this season, that duo has a +15.9 net rating. Their synergy has been a real positive for the Wolves. After Monday's game, Reid and Hyland did a joint media scrum in the locker room.

"I was talking to Naz (about it) on the bench," Hyland said when asked why they've worked so well together. "My speed and my advantage on the pick and rolls, it's either I'm getting downhill or you got a wide-open shot, pick and pop. So I feel like that's such a threat, such an advantage for us. It creates a different look from the first unit. So when we come in, we just want to provide a different spark, a different energy. I feel like that's stuff that you can't game plan for."

"He takes a lot of pressure off of other guys," Reid said of Hyland. "He can score the ball at will. He's a leader in his own way. He talks, communicates, not gonna take a play off. He's not gonna tell you to do something if he's not gonna do it. Makes the right rotations. That's the kind of guy we need on the bench mob."

With Hyland, it's worth noting that his two recent big performances, on both ends of the Wolves' losing streak, have come with Edwards sidelined. Finch wants Bones to feel comfortable playing aggressively regardless of situation, even if he's sharing the floor with Edwards.

With that said, the onus is also on Finch to actually give Hyland those opportunities. In the last six games, Hyland has played 87 minutes and gone 13 of 27 from the field. In that same span, Mike Conley has played 114 minutes and made 3 of 24 shots. If Finch wants to continue getting this kind of spark from Hyland even when Edwards is available, he may have to finally be willing to slash Conley's minutes.

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