Game 2- Minnesota Timberwolves 85 vs. Dallas Mavericks 95 (1-1) By Joe Weise and Alec Schimke Timberwolves Beat Writers Alec: When I asked Kevin Love last night about the game tonight, I asked him who he thought he would be matched up against. He said most likely Dirk and Dampier. Love really stressed that Dirk is an incredibly tough player to defend because of his ability to shoot the basketball so effectively. Well Kevin you were right, Dirk is a very tough player to defend and he showcased his skills tonight leading the Mavs with 21 points. While this was a tough game to swallow, I can't help but feel proud by our performance tonight even though so many guys had a rough night. Joe: Last season if the Timberwolves had trailed by eleven at the end of the first quarter, the possibility of a comeback would have essentially been zero. I think Timberwolves Press can speak for basically every T'Wolves fan when we say we’re encouraged by what we have seen in the first couple of games. Sure, there has been growing pains (11-22 FT % in game one), but even Kirk Cameron would agree, there is an entirely new attitude here in Minnesota. Kevin Love, while describing himself, also sums up the T'Wolves perfectly by saying, “People are going to have to realize that for a rookie, there’s always ups and downs. Nobody’s ever perfect.” Game Summary: The T'Wolves had a nice start to this game and then things got ugly quickly. Former MVP Dirk Nowitzki and off-season marijuana user Josh Howard worked the T'Wolves on the offensive end of the court leading the Mavs to 31 points. The second quarter the Timberwolves picked things up and changed the tempo of the game into their favor.They were led in the second quarter by Kevin Love’s nine points and two offensive boards to finish the half trailing by only four, at 53-49. The bench was huge for the Timberwolves in their comeback in the second quarter. Rashad McCants kept this team in the ball game with his energy off the bench. McCants was attacking the basket very well tonight and had a several nice fast-break finishes. The third quarter was a rough quarter of basketball. Neither team shot the ball well, but luckily we were able to do enough to keep it close. We ended the quarter with a Love outlet to Ollie, who sent sent a nice cross-court pass to McCants for the dunk. In the fourth, the Wolves offensive struggles continued and trailed by eleven with eight minutes remaining. Gerald Green hit a few nice shots for the Mavs. Thats right Gerald Freakin' Green all of a sudden is starting to play decent basketball. The T'Wolves became too complacent with shooting jump shots. Mike Miller drew a huge charge at 3:10 in the fourth, which was followed by a nice jumper by Gomes. He was immediately answered by a nasty Dirk Nowitzki fade away, getting the lead back to seven. A questionable out of bounds call with 1:16 remaining may have been the nail in the coffin. With the score at 90-85, the Wolves didn’t quite have the time to come back, and the Wolves lost 95-85. Final Thoughts: Overall, it was a rough night offensively, but the Dallas Mavericks are an established team, and will never lie down and die. It was an encouraging game nonetheless, and while it hurts to lose, it definitely illustrated the start of a new era. Rashad McCants led the way with 18 points on 6-8 shooting, but Foye, Jefferson, and Miller all struggled to put the ball in the hole. It was disappointing, but it’ll be rare for all three of them to struggle on the same night. Jefferson is a star, and Foye is poised to have a breakout season. Miller will find his stroke. He’s one of the best shooters in the league, and you can’t keep him quiet for too long. The Wolves fall to 1-1, and take on Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder on the road tomorrow. Other Notes: -In 22 minutes, rookie Kevin Love scored nine points along with three rebounds. I talked to Kevin last night and he said that Dirk is an incredibly tough player to defend because of his ability to shoot. He stressed it would be a tough matchup and that he would most likely be matched up against him and Dampier. Love didn't see too much time against Dirk but rather guarded Dampier and Diop as Gomes handled Nowitzki the majority of the night. -Former Wolf Gerald Green scored nine points in 16 minutes for the Mavs. -Jason Kidd put together an all too familiar line with nine points, seven assists, and nine rebounds. -After shooting 11-22 from the free throw line in the opener, we improved to 22-24 in game two. Triple Defense? "Wiggles his way through triple defense" Tom Hanneman referring to Kevin Love on a three point play. Triple defense..really Tom? Someone please explain to me what triple defense means and how one wiggles through it. Stat of the game: Minnesota’s starters were 17-56 from the field. MVP: Rashad McCants had 18 points off the bench
