Wolves record: 4-1
Last night, the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Raptors 90-86, mainly because their reserves drilled their Raptors counterparts so thoroughly it didn’t seem quite fair.
From the Associated Press:
Ryan Gomes scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, and Blake Ahearn added 15 points to help the Timberwolves beat the Toronto Raptors 90-86 on Thursday night.
“Our first unit has to play better,” Wittman said. “If it wasn’t for our second unit tonight, we don’t win the game.”
If the regulars don’t stop taking too many jumpers and passing up opportunities to penetrate, Wittman said he’s willing to make changes.
Starting shooting guard Mike Miller missed his second straight game because of a sprained ankle and his replacement, Rashad McCants, went 0-for-7 from the floor, including five 3-point attempts.
Guards Randy Foye and Rodney Carney added 13 points apiece for the Wolves and center Al Jefferson had 12 and 13 rebounds.
The big joke around the Timberwolves locker room was the fact Blake Ahearn had a huge game after getting poked in the eye. Ahearn was poked in the left eye during training camp and yesterday he was poked in the right eye during practice. Despite some issues with a sore eye Ahearn started the game shooting a sizzling 6-6 from the field for 15 points in his first nine minutes off the bench. This was part of a 18-5 run by Minnesota which burst the game open and provided them with a 47-31 advantage.
Wittman used the occasion to call out his starters afterward (even though with Big Al, Corey Brewer, Craig Smith, Foye and Rashad McCants Thursday it was a different starting lineup from Tuesday in Chicago). He praised Ahearn and said he was the team’s best playmaker on the floor, which shouldn’t be the case with Foye and Sebastian Telfair out there. And he said Jefferson needs to get in better shape by the Oct. 29 opener against Sacramento.
“We’ve got 13 days,” Wittman said. “I don’t know who the starting lineup is going to be Oct. 29. We’re going to play guys who will be aggressive.”
Jefferson, in turn, said he isn’t concerned about the starters. “Ever game is a different starting five,” he said of preseason play. And he said he had a cold Thursday and it showed in his conditioning.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
