Wolves record: 15-27
Stephen Litel/MinnesotaSCORE live blogged the game
Randy Foye struggled through a 2-for-11 shooting night but hit a driving layup with 41.3 seconds remaining in overtime to help the Wolves to a 109-108 victory and their biggest comeback of the season.
Al Jefferson boosted his late all-star bid with a season-high 39 points, and rookie Kevin Love added 19 points and tied a career-high 15 rebounds for Minnesota, which ran its January record to an NBA-best 9-2 and improved to 11-12 under Kevin McHale.
“It was a gritty win for us,” McHale said. “I don’t think I’ll watch the film. I’ll just wonder the rest of my life how we won the game.”
Along with Love, the Wolves were again sparked by the performance of Rodney Carney off the bench. Carney recorded 13 points and ignited an 11-2 run in the second quarter with a breakaway dunk that jolted the home crowd to their feet. Telfair kept the Wolves afloat in the first quarter with nine points while Minnesota fell behind by 11 at the end of the quarter…
Mike Miller, known for his proficient outside shooting, has connected on just five three-pointers since he returned from injury at the beginning of January, and has reached double figures in scoring only once in 2009. The career 40% shooter from downtown is shooting just 32.7% this season.
It says volumes about the Wolves’ development that McHale’s team delivered a performance he compared to trash and yet it still won for the 11th time in 15 games.
The Wolves did so because Telfair’s first-quarter scoring kept them in the game early and because Jefferson — his cramping leg be damned — refused to go quietly into the good night late.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Bulls center Joakim Noah, who valiantly but unsuccessfully tried to contain Jefferson on a 39-point night, one shy of Jefferson’s career high. “I was playing as hard as I could. He just kept scoring the ball.”
From the Associated Press:
The Timberwolves organization has made a strong marketing push lately, urging fans to help send Jefferson to the All-Star game. Against the Bulls, Jefferson made a good case.
“I hope he gets in, because he deserves it you know,” Randy Foye said. “He’s the leader of this team, leading scorer, leading rebounder, and we’re one of the hottest teams in the league. … If he doesn’t get in, all of us know that he’s an All-Star from the way he plays.’
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