Mitchell wants Wolves to finish with professional attitude

There are five games left on the Timberwolves schedule, and seemingly little reason for motivation.

But Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said after Monday's practice he sees this as an important stretch.

"I told them a couple of days ago it's not how you start, it's how you finish," Mitchell said. "Everybody thinks when you say that it's about finishing first. It's about finishing with class, dignity, professionalism, caring, playing as hard as you can for as long as you can until that horn blows. That's a sign of character."

Cody Stavenhagen reporting from Wolves practice ... Jerry is en route to California and Kent has Wild duty today.

And it's not like there's a complete absence of incentive for the Wolves (25-52) going into Tuesday's 9:30 p.m. game at Golden State.

The Warriors (69-8) are chasing down the record for most wins in an NBA season and need to go at least 4-1 in their final five games to get it. The latest time these two teams met was March 21, when the Wolves took the Warriors to the wire but lost 109-104.

So not only do the Wolves have an opportunity to help spoil Golden State's quest for history, they also get another shot at proving they can hang with the defending champions.

After Monday's practice, Mitchell reiterated what he said after Sunday's 88-78 loss to the Mavericks. Despite getting destroyed on the offensive glass, the Wolves played strong defense against a team that came in on a three-game winning streak, holding the Mavericks to 38 percent from the floor.

"If you look at what they did, if you break it down defensively, that was as good of a performance as you could have," Mitchell said.

There is much progress left to make — key evidence being the Wolves' 4-for-21 mark from 3-point range Sunday — but Mitchell thinks his team can grow as much mentally as it can physically down the stretch.