Wolves record: 12-26
The Wolves won for the sixth time in seven games and the eighth time in the past 11. Perhaps more important, they beat a winning team for only the second time this season, on the road against a bleary Suns team that had been perfect the past six times after it lost a game.
When it was all over and the Wolves prevailed with a 32-24 fourth quarter, Love expressed his joy by meeting teammate Craig Smith — the guy they call Rhino for a reason — in midair with a full-body bump at midcourt.
“I’ll take the hurt if we can get the win,” Love said in a noisy Wolves locker room afterward.
The Wolves led by nine points early, trailed by 11 in the third quarter and were behind by six entering a fourth quarter in which Randy Foye once again provided the theatrics — not with 10 or more points in the final quarter as he had done in the team’s past four games, but with an off-balanced dagger of a jumper that put the Wolves ahead to stay 102-101 with two minutes left to play.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak in Phoenix dating to Feb. 6, 2006, though Minnesota still trails the series 28-11.
It also was significant in that it kicked off a three-game road trip in grand fashion and provided the Wolves a quick rebound from their home loss to Miami on Tuesday night, which halted a five-game winning streak.
And it came against a strong Suns team featuring perennial all-stars Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire.
“That was my main concern,” point guard Randy Foye said. “All this hype, five in a row. Lose one. All right, let’s see what they do now. We came in here. Not only did we beat a team to start the streak again, but we beat a good team.”
From the Associated Press:
Craig Smith had 18 points, Rodney Carney finished with 17 and Foye had 15 for Minnesota. Kevin Love added 17 points and 14 rebounds, seven coming on the offensive end.
“For a 20-year-old kid, that guy rebounds the ball at such a high level it’s ridiculous,” McHale said. “I keep forgetting he’s 20 at times.”
Shaquille O’Neal and Leandro Barbosa each scored 22 and Amare Stoudemire added 19 for the Suns, who lost for just the third time in their last 11 home games.
MVP: Kevin Love, Wolves
His seventh double-double of the season — 13 points, 14 rebounds off the bench — only tells part of the story. Half of his rebounds were on the offensive boards and the guy kept alive with his hands too many plays to count.
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