01/11/2010 - 14:08
Al Dominates the Paint
by
Matt Martino
With a competitive advantage inside the paint, the Minnesota Timberwolves pushed the ball Al Jefferson's way on Friday night and the result was their eighth win of the season.
Thanks to Big Al's 25 points, which included a few clutch buckets down the stretch, Minnesota was able to sustain an early lead and defeat the Indiana Pacers, 116-109.
During Friday night’s game at the Target Center, the Wolves exploded to start the second half with a 17-0 run. Two free throws by Jonny Flynn gave the Wolves an 84-69 advantage with 4:30 to go in the third.
The Pacers then battled back in the fourth quarter with a flurry of 3-pointers to pull within one, 100-99, with 6:34 remaining.
No.25, however, responded with five points in the last three minutes, sparking a 12-4 Minnesota run to seal the victory.
"We didn't hang our heads this time when things got tight," Al told the Pioneer Press. "We kept playing and kept running our offense. In my opinion, we ran our offense the best we've done all season."
AJ also chipped in 12 rebounds as his team dominated Indiana on the glass, out-rebounding their opponent 56-36 and holding a 45-17 advantage in free throw attempts. They made 33 free throws to Indiana's 13, helping to offset the Pacers' 3-point shooting.
The impressive work on the glass also produced 18-second chance points as opposed to just six for Indiana.
"We wanted to attack, absolutely," coach Rambis told NBA.com. "We feel like that is an advantage of ours, posting up inside, running, attacking, looking inside, being aggressive, not settling for outside shots, that’s a strength of our ball club."
"I was proud of what the guys did and I was happy how they came out of the locker room (at halftime)," coach added. "That's a huge step for them. I hope it continues."
NO STREAK FOR WOLVES
Al’s head coach showered his team with compliments after Friday’s victory. Saturday's game at Chicago, and the second contest of back-to-back nights, didn’t receive the same reviews from Rambis.
"You could see as the game went on our guys were getting more and more tired and more and more frustrated," Rambis told the Pioneer Press after Minnesota lost to the Bulls, 110-96. "When they got frustrated, they didn't put in the energy on the defensive end."
No. 25 came up just short of a double double, despite defeat, with 12 points and eight rebounds.
NEXT UP
The Timberwolves resume a four-game road trip on Monday night at Denver.
The Wolves have played Denver (23-14) twice already this season, splitting the series thus far at one win apiece. Al has averaged a double double with 14 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in those contests.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST and the game can be seen on FS North.
RELATED STORIES
Wolves' frontcourt woes at forefront (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, January 10, 2010)
http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/81077017.html
Timberwolves' struggles in back-to-back games continue with loss at Chicago (Pioneer Press, January 10, 2010)
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14158836?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Timberwolves put it all together, beating Indiana to snap five-game skid (Pioneer Press, January 9, 2009)
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14153307?source=rss
Jefferson clutch down stretch, leads Wolves to victory (NBA.com, January 9, 2010)
http://www.nba.com/games/20100108/INDMIN/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp002090052...
Wolves Outrun Pacers (NBA.com, January 8, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/Wolves_Outrun_Pacers_2010_01_08.htm...
Jefferson double-double propels Timberwolves (AP, January 8, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300108016
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