The Minnesota Timberwolves look like the team no one wants to play in the Western Conference playoffs and one that will be challenging to pass in the race for the top six seeds.

Minnesota extended its four-game winning streak on Monday night with a win over the Sacramento Kings. That came 24 hours after a victory against the Golden State Warriors.

The Wolves are playing some of their best basketball of the season as Karl-Anthony Towns has returned to the floor. Towns played Sunday and was rested Monday.

Minnesota enters Tuesday with a slight edge over the Warriors, who have an identical 39-37 record, for the No. 6 seed in the West. The New Orleans Pelicans are a half-game behind, while the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder are each 1.5 games behind.

The back-to-back wins against Golden State and Sacramento displayed how difficult the Wolves can be to eliminate in the postseason.

Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards were involved in both wins, but neither player was the leading scorer. Naz Reid came off the bench to score 23 points against the Warriors, and Jaden McDaniels led the team with 20 points versus Sacramento.

Minnesota has found the right balance of star power and depth. Gobert, Towns and Edwards can all step up in key moments, but there is not a massive drop-off to the bench unit led by Reid and Kyle Anderson.

Towns' return pushed Anderson to the bench, and that is a great thing for the Wolves because they have a starting-caliber forward to work alongside Reid, Taurean Prince, Jordan McLaughlin and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Alexander-Walker's acquisition in the Mike Conley trade gave the Wolves one more scorer off the bench who could be relied on more in the postseason.

Minnesota is a 10-deep team with Towns back in the starting lineup, and that could give them the edge across a best-of-seven series or in a play-in game if it drops out of the No. 6 seed.

The depth could help the Wolves extend their winning streak to five in Phoenix on Wednesday. The fourth-place Suns are expected to get Kevin Durant back for that contest, but they may have trouble figuring out their on-floor fit and rotations. That could give Minnesota an edge in a potential playoff preview if the Wolves get past the Los Angeles Clippers for fifth place.

The deeper rotation could help the Wolves deal with the Lakers on Friday, a game that they need to remain above the play-in round spots.

The visiting Lakers will try to make a push out of the play-in round with LeBron James back on the floor next to Anthony Davis.

Minnesota finishes the regular season against Portland, Brooklyn, San Antonio and New Orleans, all teams it should beat. Wins over the Lakers and Suns, or at least one victory in that stretch, could not just keep the Wolves above the play-in round, but also catapult them out of the No. 6 seed.

Golden State's 9-29 road record will be put to the test with three of its last six on the road. On Tuesday, the Warriors also host the Pelicans, who are on a five-game winning streak.

The Lakers start a five-game road swing on Wednesday in Chicago. They are 16-20 away from home, and that could play to the benefit of the Wolves.

New Orleans has road games at Golden State, Denver and Minnesota and home contests with the Clippers, Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and the New York Knicks. The difficult stretch could slow down the Pelicans' pursuit of the No. 6 seed.

Minnesota can strike the perfect combination of getting hot at the right time, Towns returning to the floor and other teams facing more difficult schedules to avoid the play-in round.

That could set the Wolves up with a first-round matchup against the Kings, who Minnesota just proved it could beat on the road on Monday.

A full-strength Wolves squad could beat a Clippers squad with or without Paul George in a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup, and if they challenge the Suns on Wednesday, they could prove they can compete with any team around them in the West.

A lot can change between now and the end of the regular season because the West standings are so congested, but the Wolves have positioned themselves for a nice playoff run with their recent form.