[外電] Wolves get going in nick of time
http://www.startribune.com/511/story/1052545.html
Randy Wittman was looking, searching, groping for the right group. All the
while the Timberwolves, tight as a drum, missed passes, missed shots and
worked very hard at missing an opportunity.
"We searched," admitted Wittman, relieved after the Wolves overcame a
14-point third-quarter deficit to beat an Indiana team that remains
0-for-March.
The final: 86-81.
"I am not going to lie to you, we were close to searching even deeper. And
then we sort of found that niche."
For one night, anyway, this was that niche: Veteran Kevin Garnett surrounded
mostly by young players -- rookies Randy Foye and Craig Smith, second-year
player Rashad McCants and Marko Jaric.
That five played together, substitution-free, starting with 3:32 left in the
third quarter until only 13.7 seconds remained in the game. Together they
changed the momentum of that game.
Whether it changed anything in a larger sense remains to be seen. But after
watching that group share the ball on offense and throw one of the more
nasty, active zones at the Pacers in the game's final 12 minutes, Wittman
knew he had something going on this night.
"If it went double or triple overtime, they were not coming out," Wittman
said.
Why should they? The Wolves opened the game missing everything in sight but
ended it making sure the Pacers were the gang that couldn't shoot straight.
The Wolves turned the ball over nine times in the first half, only twice in
the second. They were outrebounded by 10 over the first three quarters, but
won that battle in the fourth.
The Wolves needed Garnett's 30 points, 16 from Foye and 12 from McCants to
beat a Pacers team that was without Jermaine O'Neal and Marquis Daniels.
Indiana lost its the 10th consecutive game, and the Wolves broke a two-game
losing streak.
But it was a big victory for the Wolves (28-35), who are only one game out of
a playoff spot in the Western Conference heading into a five-game road trip
that includes many of their playoff rivals.
"We knew we can't play as bad as we did in the first couple quarters," Jaric
said. "We stayed there, we believed and we won."
The Wolves' zone forced the Pacers into a 3-for-15 fourth-quarter shooting
performance and into four turnovers which led to four Wolves points.
Afterward Wittman gave Garnett credit for taking the youngsters under his
wing. But Garnett offered a somewhat different version.
"They don't need much confidence," he said. "They have plenty of that."
Garnett did, however, like the chemistry of the group that was on the floor
when the game was won.
"I like any group that has energy," he said. "Witt has a tough dilemma in
trying to find a group and trying to find guys that mesh. It was a young
group, active and full of energy."
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