Wolves record: 20-52
What the Wolves’ 96-88 loss to the road-weary Philadelphia 76ers — their sixth consecutive defeat and 17th in 19 games — says exactly is open to interpretation.
But it sure must mean something about the franchise’s current state that coach Kevin McHale benched his starters, started his subs and his team delivered its most competitive performance since the last-minute loss at New Orleans a week earlier.
Coach Kevin McHale spun his decision to start five reserves in place of the regular lineup as a reward for the way they helped fuel a late comeback against Oklahoma. So Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes and the rest were out, Carney, Smith, Brian Cardinal, Kevin Ollie and Bobby Brown were out for the opening tip.
Carney and Cardinal made McHale look like a genius early when they hit consecutive 3s for Minnesota’s first two baskets. With the same unit on the floor to open the second half, Carney delivered with two more 3-pointers for a 55-49 lead.
The Sixers closed the quarter on a 9-0 run, thanks to five free throws, to give them a 65-62 lead into the fourth.
Though the Timberwolves led throughout much of the game, Royal Ivey hit two clutch three-pointers for the Sixers on back-to-back possessions midway through the fourth period, starting an 11-0 run. That turned a single-point deficit into a 12-point disadvantage.
“That was big,” Wolves guard Randy Foye said. “Because I don’t think he took one shot the whole game. He came in and he knocked those two shots down. … We couldn’t ever get back after that.”
The Wolves made one last ill-fated run at the Sixers, pulling within 90-85 with 1:23 remaining, but Thaddeus Young secured the win for Philly with a step-back jumper and then a fast-break dunk.
Rodney Carney’s seven three-pointers in tonight’s 96-88 loss at Philadelphia were just one short of the team record, set by Stephon Marbury in a Dec. 23, 1997 game against Seattle.
Carney, who made all but one attempt, is the seventh Wolves player to hit seven threes in a game.
14.2 Combined shooting percentage for starters-turned-subs Randy Foye (1-for-10) and Ryan Gomes (2-for-11).
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