Wolves record: 4-22
Tracy McGrady scored 23 points and the Houston Rockets made 12 3-pointers to hand the Timberwolves their 12th straight loss, 109-102 on Saturday night…
Dwarfed by Yao Ming on the block, Jefferson turned it into a mismatch in Minnesota’s favor with 34 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. But it wasn’t enough to stop a losing streak that matched the franchise’s longest skid since a 12-gamer at the end of the 1993-94 season.
The Wolves double-teamed Yao at nearly every turn, and the Rockets simply responded by moving the ball and making 12 three-pointers, including three each from Aaron Brooks and Ron Artest.
The Rockets built an 18-point, third-quarter lead the Wolves chopped to three points in the final minute, but couldn’t get any closer, not after Yao made a gyrating hook shot over Jefferson with 22 seconds left to secure Houston’s fifth victory in six games.
They also dropped to 0-7 under McHale with two road games coming up: Tuesday at San Antonio and Friday at New York.
Adding injury to insult, the Wolves lost shooting guard Mike Miller with 6:44 to play in the first quarter when he reinjured the sprained right ankle that cost him four games earlier this month.
McHale said there were a few bright spots in the loss, including 52 points in the paint and the performances of Jefferson and Foye, who scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half, 12 in the fourth quarter.
Another blow to the Minnesota psyche was the loss of Mike Miller, again. For the second time this season, Miller suffered a right ankle injury and had to be carried to the locker room in the first quarter. Rashad McCants jumped off the bench with success early by scoring 16 points in the first half. The shooting guard would not score another point in the game with the Rockets applying heavy defensive pressure after the strong start.
No one knows exactly what happened during the team’s player only meeting this week, but the initial difference is Jefferson took it upon himself to lead his team more. From the very beginning of the game, Big Al attacked Yao Ming, facing the basket and making the slower, but bigger player to move his feet. As television broadcasts certainly compared Ming to Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon, Jefferson’s array of up-and-under moves, spins, inside pivots and posterizing dunks reminded more of the Hall of Famer.
While Jefferson began the game as the team’s focal point, he also showed a bit more personality than is his norm…
The subject is particularly pertinent after tonight’s Houston victory over Minnesota because for the second straight contest 35-year old journeyman guard Kevin Ollie played more than half the game while 23-year old backup Bassy Telfair, the one with the two year contract and an option for a third, was DNP-CD. Furthermore, often derided cheerleader/forward Mark Madsen replaced top draft pick Kevin Love on Kevin McHale’s second-half bench rotation tonight, logging 9:36 in the second half while Love was relegated to 6:55 first-half minutes. Purely from a basketball standpoint, there was some logic and some results in both moves…
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