01/04/2010 - 15:16
Wolves Comeback Denied
by
Matt Martino
Al Jefferson and the Minnesota Timberwolves nearly pulled off the comeback to end all comebacks on Saturday night.
Trailing 73-45 at halftime of Saturday's game against the Indiana Pacers, incredibly, with 53 seconds remaining, Minnesota only trailed by four, but Indiana was able to hang on for a 122-111 win.
The franchise record for largest comeback is 25 points, set March 1, 1996, against Charlotte. Minnesota nearly broke that mark thanks to a 40-point third quarter that cut Indiana's lead to 98-85 heading into the fourth.
"It just proved that if we had started the game the way we finished it, we would have won easily," Al, who finished with 23 points and 6 rebounds, told the Star-Tribune. "None of that matters. We still lost."
Before their third-quarter barrage, No. 25 was the lone wolf of Minnesota's offense. In the first half, the Pacers had four players in double figures, while Al (12 points) was the only Minnesota player with more than six points.
"We just didn't come to play, and this has happened on a couple occasions," forward Kevin Love told the Pioneer Press. "We were stuck in the mud. We couldn't find anything other than Al scoring for us. We weren't really getting rebounds. They were hitting all their shots. We weren't getting back in transition.
"Of all those things I just said, not many were good."
Coach Kurt Rambis noted that he was proud of his team's effort..
"They did a really good job doing the energy-effort things it takes to win basketball games. I was pleased from that respect, but they're a team that has to learn we don't have a 24-minute warm-up period. There's no grace period for us.
"We've got to start from the very beginning of the game and played like we did in the second half and we'd be fine. We can't allow teams to have that big of a lead and expect to claw out way out of all the time."
MAGIC SCARE
The Wolves had a mild scare in the second quarter during Friday's game against the Orlando Magic when AJ limped to the sideline after colliding with Orlando backup center Marcin Gortat.
The injury occurred during a play in which Al was whistled for an offensive foul. He sat on the bench while Wolves trainer Gregg Farnham applied ice to the same right knee that caused Al to miss the final 32 games of last season.
Fortunately, it was a mere bruise this time around and No. 25 returned to action two minutes later and finished the quarter.
He ended up with 14 points and 10 rebounds but wasn't able to escape victorious as the Orlando Magic defeated Minnesota, 106-94.
Orlando led 73-71 after three quarters and the Wolves took a brief 77-75 lead when Wayne Ellington hit a 3-pointer with 10:06 to play. The Magic responded by making threes on their next four offensive possessions for an 87-81 lead with 7:56 remaining. Minnesota would never come any closer.
NEXT UP
The Wolves are in the midst of enjoying three days off after Saturday's game against Indiana.
Minnesota had played four games in five nights, three of which were against the likes of Utah, San Antonio, and Orlando. The Wolves went winless during this stretch dropping their record to 7-28.
"You can always use those as excuses in this league," Rambis told the Star-Tribune in regard to playing four games in five nights. "We had several players who weren't ready to play and we're not the type of team that can afford to have that."
The Wolves will need to be ready to play on Wednesday when they host the Golden State Warriors (9-23). The two teams met back in November when Al was initially returning from his knee surgery. He scored 18 points in a mere 20 minutes.
Big Al will be primed to have a big game against Golden State this time around thanks to improved health and conditioning. Last season, he averaged 28.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in two games against the Warriors.
Tip-off of the Wednesday night tilt is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST and all the action can be seen on FS North.
RELATED STORIES
Timberwolves' comeback comes up short at Indiana (Pioneer Press, January 3, 2010)
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14113019?source=rss
The big question about a 122-111 loss at Indiana (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, January 3, 2010)
http://www.startribune.com/blogs/80524417.html?elr=KArks47cQiU47cQiU47cQ...
Hibbert, Head score 21 each to power Pacers past Wolves (AP, January 2, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300102011
Minnesota Timberwolves endure rain of threes by Orlando (Pioneer Press, January 1, 2010)
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14108689?source=rss
Magic find way to win as Howard, Carter are shut down (AP, January 1, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300101016
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