HOUSTON — First things first: The Minnesota Timberwolves are not merely happy to be in the playoffs for the first time since 2004 Mike Ditka Jersey , despite the prevailing narrative regarding their presence.

The circumstances certainly allude to a measure of complacency on behalf of the Timberwolves, who claimed a winner-take-all showdown with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday to end the longest postseason drought in the league.

For their effort, which included surviving a lengthy span of the stretch run without All-Start guard Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves earned a matchup against the top-seeded and heavily favored Houston Rockets, with their Western Conference first-round series set to commence Sunday at Toyota Center.

Given the long odds, and the fact that Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals, is drawing Houston accomplishment enough?

Not particularly.

“We expect nothing but greatness from ourselves,” Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We didn’t wake up this morning like, ‘Hey, we’re going to go to Houston.’ We woke up saying we’re going to go to Houston and get the job done. We put pressure on ourselves because we want to be so great, we want to be the best team possible that we can be. I think we’re going to do fine.

“At the end of the day we don’t need anyone to tell us their opinions of how the series is going to go. We have confidence and we talk to each other. That’s all we need is each other in this moment.”

The Timberwolves will have to circle the wagons against an opponent that blitzed them four times during the regular season. The Rockets claimed the first three meetings by 18 points each and led by 25 in a 129-120 road victory March 18. Houston, the most prolific 3-point shooting team in the league by volume, hit 69 of 159 3s in those four games for a robust 43.4 percent.

How Minnesota handles the challenge that comes with defending the Rockets might align with its offensive approach. By relying on Towns Da'Norris Searcy Jersey , who paced the team in points (1,743), rebounds (1,012), blocks (115) and 3-pointers (120), plus Butler in the post, Minnesota might unlock a pace that could prevent Houston from its usually lethal combo of layups and open 3s.

“We’ve got the capability to play slower; we’ve got KAT and Jimmy and those guys who can post the ball and put guys in isolation situations,” Timberwolves guard Jeff Teague said. “Against that team they switch so much they kind of want you to post the ball so they can come and trap, so we’ve got to push the ball and try to get some easy scores. And we’re going to have to make some shots.”

Matching the Rockets offensively might be as sound a strategy as anything the Timberwolves can muster defensively. Houston not only made more 3-pointers (1,256) than any team in NBA history, the Rockets actually attempted more 3s (3,470) than shots from inside the arc (3,446).

Additionally Demaryius Thomas Jersey , Rockets guards James Harden and Chris Paul ranked first and fourth, respectively, in isolation points per possession. And for added measure, center Clint Capela paced the league in field goal percentage (65.2), gorging on a healthy portion of lobs courtesy of the penetration Harden and Paul created by opponents scrambling to defend the 3-point arc.

The Timberwolves finished 23rd in defensive efficiency during the regular season, so any expectation that they might lock down the Rockets this series is foolhardy. The Rockets are well aware of their potency, and the potential to inflect damage by doing what they usually do.

“You go out there and compete, and go back to what you’ve been doing all year,” Harden said. “Staying together, having that positive mindset. Bad things are going to happen. Turnovers are going to happen, mistakes are going to happen but the sooner you can bounce back to that next play, the better off you’ll be.”

One bad inning seems to spoil every Michael Fulmer start.

The Detroit Tigers right-hander can look overpowering most of the time, but the opposition catches up to him at some point.

In Cincinnati three starts ago Royce Freeman Jersey , he dominated for five innings before giving up two home runs in the sixth.

Against Oakland in his next outing, he lasted eight innings but gave up three runs in the third. Facing the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, Fulmer tossed four scoreless innings but allowed three runs in the fifth.

He wound up with two losses and a no-decision in those starts. He’ll try to break the habit in the finale of a four-game series against the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

“Overall, it’s just kind of eliminating that one big inning,” Fulmer said of his struggles. “I feel like that’s what it is every start. If I can just keep the crooked numbers off the scoreboard every inning and just try to put up zeroes the best I can, the results will come eventually. I know I’ve been saying that for a while, but I feel like we’re close and I’m still happy with my stuff right now.”

Fulmer (3-7, 4.22 ERA) has posted one victory in his last seven outings. Run support has been spotty at best for him this season — he has given up two or fewer runs in eight starts — but he’d rather make things easier on his team.

“I feel like any given start, it just needs one complete game and we’re going to turn the corner,” he said. “Everything else feels good. I feel healthy, I feel strong and you can see that by the way I’m executing my pitches.”

Fulmer is 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in three career starts against the Rangers. He can take inspiration from Jordan Zimmermann’s performance Friday after the veteran right-hander limited Texas to one run in eight innings and struck out 11.

“His command (Friday) was impeccable,” Fulmer said. “The biggest key for myself is trying to command the ball a little better.”

Detroit got another strong start Saturday from Mike Fiers, who gave up one run in six innings of the Tigers’ 7-1 win.

Right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx (1-2 Christian Kirksey Jersey , 4.40) will oppose Fulmer. He has made three starts since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.

Bibens-Dirkx gave up five runs in six innings against Houston in his last start, but it could have been worse. All the runs came in the first three innings, but he settled down and retired nine of the last 12 batters he faced.

This will be Bibens-Dirkx’s first career start against the Tigers, but he tossed 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief last season. He’s 4-1 with a 3.81 ERA in 14 road appearances (five starts) since making his major league debut as a 32-year-old last season.

Texas designated hitter Shin-Shoo Choo can establish a franchise on-base record Sunday. He tied Julio Franco’s 1993 mark by reaching base for the 46th consecutive game Saturday.

He had two doubles after homering Friday despite dealing with a quad injury.

“Very impressive what Choo’s doing,” manager Jeff Banister said. “Any time a player is battling through some nagging things and continuing to go out and perform is highly impressive. He’s a tremendous player. For me, it’s not just the on-base (streak), it’s how he’s playing, how he’s swinging the bat, the power, the extra-base hits and the walks.”