Timberwolves Come up Short
February 4, 2008
After snatching an 86-85 lead over Houston on February 4 at Target Center in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Timberwolves wilted in the final 1:38 of the game and lost to the Rockets 92-86.
Al Jefferson tipped in an errant shot by Ryan Gomes to give the Wolves the lead. The Rockets failed to retaliate on their possession, but a double-dribble call on Gomes gave Houston the ball back. Tracy McGrady, a thorn in the Timberwolves’ side all night, scored with 1:10 remaining, and Minnesota could not recover. A subsequent McGrady three-point basket sealed the deal for Houston.
Sebastian Telfair had a career-high 12 assists and no turnovers for the Timberwolves. The last time a Minnesota player registered that many assists without a turnover was when Terrell Brandon accomplished the feat in 2001. “That was as good of a floor game as Sebastian has played,” Randy Wittman, Minnesota head coach said after the game. “He didn’t force any shots, he made simple plays.”
“We put ourselves in a position to win against a team [Houston] that’s playing as good as just about anybody in the league right now. They stepped up and made some big plays down the stretch. But we can play with anybody if we play the way we need to play.”
Minnesota held a somewhat lethargic Yao Ming to16 points and five rebounds. Just when it appeared that the 7-foot-6 center was about to dominate the game, he backed away from the main action flow.
Houston led at the half 47-42 despite the fact that both teams shot 47 percent from the field, each had 21 rebounds, and each committed 10 turnovers. The difference was at the free-throw line where the Rockets made seven of 10 attempts to Minnesota’s two-for-three. A similar situation in the second half saw both teams close in field goal percentage and number of rebounds and turnovers. However, the Rockets posted seven more free throws than did the Wolves.
McGrady, whose career appeared to be entering a slow decline, has rejuvenated himself this year despite nagging injuries early in the season. He finished the game with 26 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Complementing McGrady in his early successes was 6-foot-9 Argentinean Luis Scola who led the team with eight rebounds. Curiously, Houston coach Rick Adelman chose not to play Scola in the crucial fourth quarter.
As usual, Jefferson led Minnesota in scoring with 33 points and 16 rebounds. Rashad McCants came off the bench to score 15 points for the Wolves.
“Early on,” Wittman said, “we fell in love with the jump shot. We didn’t move the ball, and it needed to be moved. We had 18 turnovers. That’s too many, especially against a team like Houston.
“We are struggling in learning to win games. I had five guys on the floor that had never been in a fourth quarter together with two minutes to go in a tie game.”
The loss left the Wolves’ 2007-08 season record at 10 wins and 37 losses.
“It was a struggle,” Adelman remarked at the game’s conclusion. “They came back at us and played very well. Even though we didn’t play great, we did what we had to do to win the game.”