Milwaukee (0-0) at Minnesota (0-0) Preview - Box Score - Recap Game Info: 8:00 pm EST Wed Oct 29, 2003 TV: MIL, FSNo The Minnesota Timberwolves may finally have enough talent around Kevin Garnett to end their streak of seven straight first-round playoff exits. Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell and Michael Olowokandi team up with Garnett with the hopes of making a serious playoff run in the talent-laden Western Conference. The retooled Timberwolves begin their season against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Target Center. Since Flip Saunders was hired as coach in December 1995, the Wolves have been consistently competitive in the Western Conference only to lose in the first round of each of their seven playoff appearances. ``I want to win a championship here,'' said Garnett, the six-time All-Star and perennial MVP contender who signed a five-year $100 million contract in the offseason. Garnett's huge salary, and the league-imposed penalties for Minnesota's illegal negotiations with Joe Smith have hindered the team's quest to find the right nucleus around Garnett since 1998, before Tom Gugliotta left as a free agent and Stephon Marbury forced a trade. The defending champion San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks and Lakers have all made significant offseason moves, so winning won't be any easier this year. The Timberwolves appear to have better addressed their needs as well, if not better, than any of the top contenders. Sprewell, who arrived from the New York Knicks in a four-team trade, is a career 19-point scorer and a proven playoff performer. He should also be quick enough to defend the West's best shooting guards, something Wally Szczerbiak couldn't do. ``They kicked Wally's butt last year,'' Minnesota GM Kevin McHale said. Szczerbiak will be out at least two weeks with a sore left foot, and could be placed on the injured list if the team finds a suitable free agent, coach Saunders said Tuesday. Cassell gives Minnesota their most talented point guard since Marbury, and Troy Hudson -- coming off his best season -- becomes the sixth man. ``I understand Kevin's never played in the month of June,'' Cassell said. ``I've played in the month of June. ... This organization had to step up and make changes. They were not getting where Kevin wanted to get. Hopefully, we'll get there.'' Olowokandi, who left the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent, should toughen up the interior and play better defense than the departed Rasho Nesterovic. Veteran Ervin Johnson, who came with Cassell in a deal with the Bucks, provides depth up front with former Lakers grinder Mark Madsen. Cassell and Johnson may not recognize their former team on Wednesday. Two seasons ago Milwaukee made it to the Eastern Conference finals behind the ``Big Three'' of Cassell, Glen Robinson and Ray Allen. All three of those players have since been traded away paving the way for youth movement. The Bucks fired George Karl in a tumultuous offseason that also saw the departures of general manager Ernie Grunfeld and veterans Cassell, Johnson, Gary Payton and Anthony Mason. Rookie head coach Terry Porter takes over the coaching reigns for Milwaukee. Porter, 40, worked last season as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings, his first season in coaching after a 17-year playing career. ``He is a proven winner in the NBA who played the game with dignity, confidence and intensity, skills that will translate directly to the improvement of our team,'' general manager Larry Harris said. Porter inherits a young team that features Desmond Mason, Dan Gadzuric, Marcus Haislip, rookie T.J. Ford and Michael Redd. ``The vision is to be competitive every night and compete for a playoff spot,'' Porter said. ``I wouldn't call it rebuilding. We have a good mix of players, a good foundation. We have some youth, we have some experience.'' Mason signed a three-year contract extension with the Bucks on Monday after being acquired by Milwaukee last season in a trade with Seattle. Mason, whose extension runs through the 2006-07 season, averaged 14.8 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds in 28 games after the trade. 2002-2003 STANDINGS: Bucks - 4th place, 8 GB, Central Division. Timberwolves - 3rd place, 9 GB, Midwest Division. PROBABLE STARTERS: Bucks - F Mason, F Joe Smith, C Brian Skinner, G Ford, G Redd. Timberwolves - F Garnett, F Sprewell, C Johnson, G Fred Hoiberg, G Cassell. 2002-2003 TEAM LEADERS: Bucks - Redd, 15.1 ppg; Mason, 6.5 rpg; Toni Kukoc, 3.7 apg. Timberwolves - Garnett, 23 ppg, 13.4 rpg and 6.0 apg. 2002-2003 SEASON SERIES: Timberwolves, 2-0. 2002-2003 ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Bucks - 17-24 on the road; Timberwolves - 33-8 at home. INJURIES: Bucks - C Joel Przybilla (knee); F Tim Thomas (calf). Timberwolves - G Hudson (ankle); G-F Szczerbiak (foot).
Minnesota 95, Milwaukee 89 Preview - Box Score - Recap 1 2 3 4 Total Milwaukee 16 25 25 23 89 Final Minnesota 27 27 17 24 95 Milwaukee Name Min FG 3Pt FT Off Reb Ast TO Stl Blk PF Pts T. Thomas 30 5-17 0-3 2-2 1 3 3 2 0 1 2 12 B. Skinner 42 5-11 0-0 2-2 1 10 2 2 1 2 3 12 J. Smith 36 6-12 0-0 2-2 3 8 1 1 2 0 4 14 M. Redd 34 8-17 0-2 0-0 3 9 2 1 0 0 3 16 D. Jones 23 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 4 4 0 0 1 0 D. Mason 28 5-12 0-1 6-6 1 3 3 1 0 1 3 16 T. Kukoc 14 1-3 0-1 3-4 1 4 4 0 0 0 1 5 E. Strickland 29 5-7 2-2 2-2 2 4 6 1 1 0 2 14 D. Gadzuric 4 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 T. Ford DNP - Sore Right Ankle M. Haislip DNP - Coach's Decision D. Santiago DNP - Coach's Decision Totals 240 35-83 2-9 17-18 12 42 25 12 4 4 21 89 Percentages: .422 .222 .944 Team Rebounds: 5 Minnesota Name Min FG 3Pt FT Off Reb Ast TO Stl Blk PF Pts K. Garnett 41 11-23 0-0 3-6 5 21 6 1 1 3 2 25 F. Hoiberg 30 1-5 0-0 1-2 0 3 4 0 1 1 0 3 M. Olowokandi 27 5-10 0-0 1-4 4 9 1 1 1 1 1 11 L. Sprewell 41 5-13 1-4 4-6 1 4 5 4 2 0 3 15 S. Cassell 40 6-18 0-1 6-6 0 3 9 1 2 0 3 18 G. Trent 23 6-11 0-1 2-2 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 14 M. Madsen 28 4-5 0-0 1-2 3 4 0 1 1 0 4 9 K. McLeod 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 E. Johnson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N. Ebi DNP - Coach's Decision T. Hassell DNP - Coach's Decision Q. Lewis DNP - Coach's Decision Totals 240 38-85 1-6 18-28 15 47 26 8 8 5 14 95 Percentages: .447 .167 .643 Team Rebounds: 12 Game Info Technical Fouls: None Attendance: 17,784 Officials: Bernie Fryer, David Jones, Pat Fraher
Minnesota 95, Milwaukee 89 Preview - Box Score - Recap By DAVE CAMPBELL, AP Sports Writer October 29, 2003 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Though many will be focused this season on Minnesota's new players, Kevin Garnett can never be ignored. Garnett had 25 points, 21 rebounds and six assists as the Timberwolves hung on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 95-89 Wednesday night in the opener for two teams sporting a much different look. ``I was definitely hyped,'' Garnett said. ``The talent is there.'' Newcomers Sam Cassell (18 points), Latrell Sprewell (15 points) and Michael Olowokandi (11 points, nine rebounds) helped Garnett, as did holdover reserve Gary Trent (14 points). ``That's what Spree and I are supposed to do, take the pressure off Kevin on both ends of the floor,'' Cassell said. Michael Redd and Desmond Mason each had 16 points for Milwaukee, playing its first game under rookie coach Terry Porter -- hired to replace George Karl. The young Bucks trailed by 17 points late in the first half, but they climbed back in the third quarter to trim the lead to five. Toni Kukoc found Redd for a wide-open dunk at the buzzer to pull Milwaukee to 71-66. ``You don't get nothing for fighting back,'' Mason said. The Bucks, who trailed the whole game, cut it to 87-85 on former Timberwolves forward Joe Smith's tip-in with 1:13 remaining after Garnett missed a jumper. But Garnett, a six-time All-Star and the league's highest-paid player this season at $28 million, made amends by hitting a turnaround from 15 feet with 50 seconds left to make it 89-85. ``He's our leader -- there's no doubt about that,'' said Fred Hoiberg, who started in place of Wally Szczerbiak. Only four players from last season's team are back for Minnesota, and two -- Troy Hudson (ankle) and Szczerbiak (foot) -- are on the injured list. The crowd of 17,784 liked the new look. Sprewell threw an alley-oop to Garnett for the game's first points. Mark Madsen, who left the Los Angeles Lakers, took off 2 feet inside the free throw line and threw down a dunk in second quarter to give the Wolves their biggest lead, 54-37. Minnesota coach Flip Saunders sensed more energy inside Target Center than he had in some time. ``I don't know if it was the new scoreboard, or if it was opening night or what,'' he said. ``But I think this is going to be a fun place to come watch this year.'' With this influx of new faces, there's some question about how the ball will be distributed. Cassell was 6-for-18, but Saunders chalked that up to his third-quarter plea for more aggressiveness when the Wolves went conservative and got cold (shooting 7-for-25 in the period). ``At times, we played dynamically on both offense and defense,'' Saunders said. ``At some point, everybody out there had their moments.'' The Bucks -- who cleared out Cassell, Ervin Johnson, Ray Allen, Gary Payton and Anthony Mason in the past year -- are rebuilding, and it showed. Porter, who played 17 seasons with Portland, Minnesota, Miami and San Antonio, winced through most of the first half as the Timberwolves dominated inside, scoring 34 points in the paint to Milwaukee's 14. The Bucks shot 39.1 percent (18-for-46) in the first half and looked lost several times on offense. ``I just think we dug ourselves a really big hole early,'' Mason said. Smith and Erick Strickland each had 14 points, and Tim Thomas and Brian Skinner added 12 apiece. Pleased by the comeback, Porter wasn't satisfied with the early effort. ``There are no moral victories in this league,'' he said. ``That doesn't work. You hear of coaches that have gotten fired because of moral victories.It's about winning in this league.''
What's up with TJ anyway? I can see KG pipping Big Ben and TD for the rebounding title this year, he started banging inside a lot more last season.
