GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

<div class="pre">AT ISTANBUL TURKEY

NBA MINNESOTA 74
EFES PILSEN 74 3:18 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

<div class="pre">AT ISTANBUL TURKEY

NBA MINNESOTA 78
EFES PILSEN 77 0:44 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

<div class="pre">AT ISTANBUL TURKEY

NBA MINNESOTA 84
EFES PILSEN 81 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

<div class="pre">AT ISTANBUL TURKEY

NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
MINNESOTA 22 19 19 24 84
EFES PILSEN 23 16 20 22 81 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: MIN - RICKY DAVIS 12, RYAN GOMES 12, AL
JEFFERSON 11
EFE - ANDREW NICHOLAS 24, ANDRE HUTSON 15,
ENDER ARSLAN 10</div>

 

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Timberwolvesshowcased their revamped roster on the international stage.

Newly acquired forwards Ryan Gomes and Al Jefferson combined for23 points and 30 rebounds as the Timberwolves posted an 84-81victory over Turkish club Efes Pilsen in their preseason openeron Saturday afternoon.


Ricky Davis added 12 points for Minnesota, which was playing itsfirst game since dealing franchise centerpiece Kevin Garnett tothe Boston Celtics in an unprecedented seven-for-one megadealthis past summer.


The Timberwolves received a package of picks and young players -including Gomes, Jefferson, swingman Gerald Green, guardSebastian Telfair and center Theo Ratliff.


A former All-American at Providence, the 6-7 Gomes is ahard-working role player who may garner a more prominent rolewith the inexperienced Timberwolves. He scored 12 points, shot5-of-9 from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds on Saturday.

Jefferson, an emerging star in the pivot, filled Garnett's voidnicely in the relaxed exhibition opener. The 6-10 forwardscored 11 points, snagged 17 rebounds and shot 4-of-8 from thefloor.


But more importantly for Minnesota, it was able to put itswhirlwind offseason in the past and focus on banding togetherits young talent. However, it faced a pesky Efes Pilsen squad.

Trailing, 77-76, with 2:41 left in the fourth quarter, theTimberwolves finally took the lead for good on Jefferson'sjumper with 44 seconds left. Telfair and Randy Foye made sixfree throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Former Maryland standout Drew Nicholas had 25 points for Pilsen,which shot just 35 percent (28-of-80) from the field.

 

NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

<div class="pre">AT ISTANBUL TURKEY

MINNESOTA (84) AT EFES PILSEN (81)

MINNESOTA

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

R FOYE G 28:00 2-8 4-6 2 0 2 3 2 0 4 10
R DAVIS G 27:03 5-15 0-0 1 2 3 1 1 0 2 12
A JEFFERSON F 27:05 4-8 3-4 4 13 17 2 2 0 1 11
R GOMES F 28:05 5-9 2-4 6 7 13 0 5 1 1 12
M BLOUNT C 13:03 2-6 2-2 2 1 3 2 1 0 2 6
S TELFAIR 25:09 2-8 3-6 1 7 8 2 3 3 3 9
J HOWARD 20:05 1-6 2-2 1 3 4 1 2 0 0 4
C RICHARD 20:02 2-4 0-2 2 7 9 0 5 0 2 4
C BREWER 18:02 1-4 0-0 1 2 3 2 4 1 1 2
G BUCKNER 17:00 1-3 1-2 0 1 1 3 2 0 1 4
G GREEN 16:26 4-15 1-2 4 1 5 0 1 0 1 10

TOTALS 240:00 29-86 18-30 24 44 68 16 28 5 18 84
(.337) (.600) TEAM REBS: 0 TOTAL TO: 19 (0 PTS)

EFES PILSEN

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

A EITO 20:08 1-9 3-4 0 0 0 3 1 1 2 5
A NICHOLAS G 37:44 8-25 4-5 1 4 5 4 3 3 1 24
K GONLUM F 16:20 0-2 0-0 3 2 5 0 1 0 0 0
L WOODS C 29:20 2-4 4-5 1 6 7 2 4 3 1 8
A HUTSON 34:55 7-14 1-3 4 14 18 2 3 0 2 15
N PRKACIN 31:53 4-9 1-6 2 5 7 2 1 1 1 9
E ARSLAN 25:50 4-7 1-3 1 0 1 3 3 0 1 10
E KURTOGLU 15:20 2-7 1-2 1 1 2 1 4 0 3 5
H MRAZEK 14:44 0-2 4-5 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 4
C AKYOL 6:58 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
M ABI F 6:48 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

TOTALS 240:00 28-80 20-35 14 33 47 20 22 9 11 81
(.350) (.571) TEAM REBS: 0 TOTAL TO: 12 (0 PTS)

MINNESOTA 22 19 19 24 - 84
EFES PILSEN 23 16 20 22 - 81

BLOCKED SHOTS: MINNESOTA - M BLOUNT, C RICHARD, A JEFFERSON, G GREEN.
EFES PILSEN - E KURTOGLU 2, L WOODS, N PRKACIN, C AKYOL.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: MINNESOTA 8-24 (.333), R FOYE 2-6, R DAVIS 2-5,
R GOMES 0-1, S TELFAIR 2-3, C BREWER 0-3, G BUCKNER 1-1, G GREEN 1-
5. EFES PILSEN 5-18 (.278), A EITO 0-3, A NICHOLAS 4-11, N PRKACIN 0-
1, E ARSLAN 1-2, H MRAZEK 0-1.
TECHNICAL FOULS: NONE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
A - N/A. T - N/A.</div>

 

NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

<div class="pre">AT ISTANBUL TURKEY

MINNESOTA (84)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
R Foye 28:00 2-8 4-6 2-2 3 2 10
R Davis 27:03 5-15 0-0 1-3 1 1 12
A Jefferson 27:05 4-8 3-4 4-17 2 2 11
R Gomes 28:05 5-9 2-4 6-13 0 5 12
M Blount 13:03 2-6 2-2 2-3 2 1 6
S Telfair 25:09 2-8 3-6 1-8 2 3 9
J Howard 20:05 1-6 2-2 1-4 1 2 4
C Richard 20:02 2-4 0-2 2-9 0 5 4
C Brewer 18:02 1-4 0-0 1-3 2 4 2
G Buckner 17:00 1-3 1-2 0-1 3 2 4
G Green 16:26 4-15 1-2 4-5 0 1 10

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 29-86 18-30 24-68 16 28 84
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.337, FT-.600. 3-Point Goals:
8-24, .333 (R Foye 2-6, R Davis 2-5, R Gomes
0-1, S Telfair 2-3, C Brewer 0-3, G Buckner
1-1, G Green 1-5). Team Rebounds: 0. Blocked
Shots:4 (M Blount, C Richard, A Jefferson, G
Green). Turnovers:18 (R Foye 4, S Telfair 3,
R Davis 2, M Blount 2, C Richard 2, G
Buckner, A Jefferson, C Brewer, G Green, R
Gomes). Steals: 5 (S Telfair 3, R Gomes, C
Brewer).


EFES PILSEN (81)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
A Eito 20:08 1-9 3-4 0-0 3 1 5
A Nicholas 37:44 8-25 4-5 1-5 4 3 24
K Gonlum 16:20 0-2 0-0 3-5 0 1 0
L Woods 29:20 2-4 4-5 1-7 2 4 8
A Hutson 34:55 7-14 1-3 4-18 2 3 15
N Prkacin 31:53 4-9 1-6 2-7 2 1 9
E Arslan 25:50 4-7 1-3 1-1 3 3 10
E Kurtoglu 15:20 2-7 1-2 1-2 1 4 5
H Mrazek 14:44 0-2 4-5 0-1 2 0 4
C Akyol 6:58 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 1 0
M Abi 6:48 0-0 1-2 0-0 1 1 1

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 28-80 20-35 14-47 20 22 81
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.350, FT-.571. 3-Point Goals:
5-18, .278 (A Eito 0-3, A Nicholas 4-11, N
Prkacin 0-1, E Arslan 1-2, H Mrazek 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 0. Blocked Shots:5 (E Kurtoglu
2, L Woods, N Prkacin, C Akyol). Turnovers:11
(E Kurtoglu 3, A Hutson 2, A Eito 2, L Woods,
E Arslan, A Nicholas, N Prkacin). Steals: 9
(L Woods 3, A Nicholas 3, H Mrazek, N
Prkacin, A Eito).

-------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA 22 19 19 24 - 84
EFES PILSEN 23 16 20 22 - 81
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: None.
Flagrant fouls: None. A: N/A. T: N/A.</div>

 

Re: NBA: MINNESOTA at EFESPILSEN

Great game by Gomes!!!!! But, what's with Buckner playing more than Green. Green had a couple nice plays though. My favorite was probably that buzzer-beater at the end of the first half or when he got blocked and stayed with it and jammed it! Or that sick block!! He displayed great defense this game.</p>