Down 0-2 in their first-round playoff series with Houston, the Wolves come home Saturday night for Game 3.
It's the franchise's first playoff game there since 2004, in an arena where they were 30-11 this season but lost twice to the Rockets.
"It feels good," Wolves forward Andrew Wiggins said after the Wolves practiced Friday afternoon at Mayo Clinic Square. "Houston took care of business up there and now we've got to do the same up here. I know the fans will be excited, the atmosphere will be crazy and the whole team, we're confident. We're ready."
The Wolves' last playoff game at Target Center was Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, a 98-96 victory that forced a Game 6 they lost in L.A.
"It's great," Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We've had great support all year and we certainly appreciate the support we've gotten. I know how hard this team has worked andfought to make it. You're trying to erase 14 years of losing. It's not an easy thing to do. This team has fought like crazy all year. We were basically a three-seed when Jimmy went down. We finished out game out of the fourth spot. I'm proud of what they've done and now our challenge is to win this next game."
Knowing they can't afford to go down 0-3, Wiggins compared Saturday's 6:30 p.m. game with the Wolves' overtime victory over Denver on the regular season's final day that pushed them into the playoffs and sent the Nuggets home.
"I think it'll be crazy, kind of like the Denver game," Wiggins said. "Fans were just screaming and into the game the whole time. We're home. The fans will be into it. I'm excited. I know the guys are too."
