Look at the absurdly dominant Timberwolves defensive stats

In a world where scoring is king, the Minnesota Timberwolves are once again bucking the trend by playing defense that is miles ahead of any other team in the league.

Oklahoma City plays strong defense and so does Houston, Orlando and a number of other teams, but the way the Timberwolves have played since Black Friday (Nov. 29) is ridiculously good.

Opponents are shooting crude percentages from almost everywhere on the floor against Minnesota since Nov. 29. What's wild to see is that the Wolves are actually dead last in opponent field-goal percentage on longer mid-range shots from 15-19 feet but dominant everywhere else on the floor.

• Opponent FG% less than 5 feet: 60.6% (ranks 7th)

• Opponent FG% 5-9 feet: 33.3% (ranks 1st)

• Opponent FG% 10-14 feet: 32.7% (rank 3rd)

• Opponent FG% 15-19 feet: 65.5% (ranks 32nd)

• Opponent FG% 20-24 feet: 30.4% (ranks 2nd)

• Opponent FG% 25-29 feet: 28.2% (ranks 3rd)

The fact that teams are hitting on such a high percentage of the least efficient shots in the game (long 2s) is a sign that Minnesota's stingy defense might get even stingier if teams stop making such a high percentage from 15-19 feet.

Minnesota has found its groove and the ultimate show-and-tell opportunity comes Thursday night when the host Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks on national television.