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Tickets at Ticket Master
Although the Minnesota Timberwolves are having the best season in franchise
history, it won't mean much if they can't get out of the first round of the
playoffs.
Minnesota goes for its sixth straight victory and looks to increase its four-game
lead over San Antonio in the Midwest Division when it hosts the Spurs.
The Spurs have something that the Timberwolves crave -- playoff success. Minnesota has been knocked out in the first round of the postseason for seven straight years.
San Antonio, the defending NBA champion, saw its six-game winning streak come to an end Friday in an 89-87 loss at Cleveland. Tim Duncan scored 21 points but had an awful shooting night, going 9-for-28 from the field.
``I got every shot I wanted, wide open,'' Duncan said. ``I just couldn't make a shot.''
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Manu Ginobili scored 21 points and Tony Parker had 15 for the Spurs, who despite
shooting 39 percent (35-of-91) from the floor still had their chances to win
the game.
``We just made mistakes and sometimes that just happens,'' Duncan said. ``It's unfortunate that it happened in those situations, teammates misreading each other and passes kind of going all over the place.''
The Spurs had won the first five games of their seven-game trip. San Antonio may be hard-pressed to finish the trip with a victory, as Minnesota is healthy and playing very well.
Kevin Garnett had 25 points and 13 rebounds in Minnesota's 88-87 win over Detroit on Friday. Sam Cassell scored 16 points and Latrell Sprewell added 12 for the Timberwolves, who have won nine of 11 and are a franchise-best 24 games over .500.
``It was a huge win,'' said Wally Szczerbiak, who scored seven points in his second game since being activated from the injured list.
With the return of Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Troy Hudson, the Timberwolves
are poised to battle Sacramento for the best record in the Western Conference.