[外電] Not enough for a win
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16618767.htm
At their best, the Timberwolves are capable of defeating any team in the NBA.
They've shown that with wins over Phoenix, San Antonio and Detroit.
Is it possible to take solace in a loss following their comeback that fell
short Saturday night in Dallas? The Wolves rallied down the stretch but lost
94-93 at American Airlines Center, their ninth defeat in their past 11 games.
They weren't expected to go on the road and beat the team with the best
record in the NBA (39-9), so there's little shame in losing this game,
especially with the way the Wolves fought back down the stretch after
trailing by 17 points in the third quarter and nine with fewer than five
minutes left.
In the end, the Wolves were left questioning the officiating, wondering why
they didn't get a foul called on a key sequence in the final minute.
With the Wolves down 92-90, Ricky Davis drove to the basket, sensing there
was no shot blocker with Dallas' Erick Dampier not on the court. But Josh
Howard stripped Davis of the ball, and Kevin Garnett had it swiped away as
well. Davis said he thought he was fouled.
"I got grabbed a little bit," Davis said. "I tried to get the ball again and
they slapped it again, then Kev got the ball and they slapped it out of his
hands."
Said Garnett, grabbing his clothed left arm: "I've got marks across my arm."
Wolves coach Randy Wittman wasn't so sure what happened.
"From where I'm at, I couldn't see whether it was a good play or not,"
Wittman said. "We didn't get the benefit of the whistle all night."
After Davis lost the ball and Garnett couldn't hang on, Mavericks forward
Dirk Nowitzki was fouled and made two free throws for a 94-90 edge with 18.4
seconds left.
Davis missed a jumper, and Howard grabbed the rebound and threw it down the
court. Rookie Randy Foye collected the ball and nailed a 28-footer for the
final margin. Dallas wisely didn't foul on the play.
"In reality, sitting here now I probably should have called timeout when he
threw it all the way to halfcourt," Wittman said. "That was maybe
realistically the only chance we had to win. Get a timeout, hit a three real
quick, foul, throw one in from three-quarter court."
The Wolves had a number of factors go their way. They held Nowitzki in check
(18 points, 5-for-14 shooting), held Dallas to 41.8 percent shooting and were
within single digits heading into the fourth quarter.
But in the end they couldn't get a win in Dallas, where the Mavericks
improved to 22-3.
"This is like a broken record," Wittman said. "Our guys fought. A shot here
or there…"
Dallas reserve DeSagana Diop energized his team with 12 rebounds in 19
minutes, keeping alive balls and frustrating the Wolves.
The Mavericks continued a bothersome trend for the Wolves, who were outscored
28-16 in points in the paint.
Garnett, who began the day averaging 12.4 rebounds, didn't get his first
board until fewer than six minutes remained in the third quarter. He finished
with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
The Mavericks outscored Minnesota 22-10 after Garnett went to the bench with
three fouls with 6:47 remaining in the second quarter. The Timberwolves were
ahead 37-34 when Garnett sat down but went into halftime trailing 56-47.
Garnett had just six points in the first half and no rebounds before he came
alive in the second half.
"I tried to be aggressive in the second half," he said. "These last couple
games, I've been playing like crap."
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