Wolves record: 1-0
Click here for video of Wilkins’ game-winning buzzer beater.
Premature game notes (via Memyworld)
Jonny Flynn thrilled the Timberwolves with a dynamite Opening Night performance, guiding one of the largest comebacks in Minnesota history and outplaying Nets veteran Devin Harris to earn a shocking 95-93 victory over New Jersey at Target Center. Flynn scored 11 points during Minnesota’s 24-6 run over the final six minutes, and though his driving layup on the game’s final possession rolled out, teammate Damien Wilkins grabbed the loose ball and banked in a 10-foot shot as time expired, shocking a New Jersey team that blew a 19-point second-half lead.
“He showed me he has a lot of heart,” Wilkins said of his rookie teammate, who led the Timberwolves with 18 points. “Jonny Flynn, he’s a winner.”
So is his team, which won its season opener for the eighth time in nine seasons — this one perhaps the most improbable of all. New Jersey capitalized on its size advantage inside to hold Minnesota to 36.6 percent shooting on the night and build a 72-53 lead midway through the third quarter. The Nets still led by 16, 87-71, with seven minutes to play.
With Rubio playing over in Spain, Flynn was relentless in taking the ball to the basket in the final period. He either scored on his drives to the hoop or wound up at the foul line, where he made 8 of 10 free throws in the game.
“Can’t be scared of anything,” said Flynn, who is generously listed at 6-foot. “Especially a little guy like me. All we have is a big heart.”
Devin Harris had a rough shooting night for the Nets. He managed just 14 points on 4 for 13 shooting to go with eight assists and six rebounds.
The Nets led by 19 points midway through the third quarter, with the 7-foot Lopez bullying the smaller Timberwolves on the low block.
Those final seven minutes changed everything, after Rambis turned to a unit down the stretch that featured Flynn, Brewer, Jefferson and Wayne Ellington and that defended like no other combination Rambis had tried until then.
The only reason Wilkins was in the game at the end was because Brian Cardinal had to come out after his grotesquely dislocated a finger late in the game. Cardinal was the only player to make a three-pointer in a game when the Nets went 0-for-8 and the Wolves 1-for-7.
“I was very proud of Al coming in and fighting through his Achilles problem,” Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said. “Putting him in the game late in the fourth quarter, I told him that he had to put the team on his back and start carrying them. The team responded.”
Minnesota took a 92-91 lead behind two free throws from Jonny Flynn with 34.6 seconds remaining in the game. New Jersey turned to its workhorse center, Brook Lopez, who dominated through three quarters by scoring 27 points. As Lopez gained control in the paint, Jefferson met him in mid-air and rejected the second-year big man. The Target Center crowd launched to their feet when Flynn collected the rebound.
Flynn then knocked down two more from the charity stripe in a true display of determination. The rookie was held to just five points before exploding in the final stanza for 13 of his 18 points and 7-for-8 at the free throw line.
“I like [Flynn’s] nastiness, I like his grit; those are things that are hard to teach a young player. The skills, the knowledge all of that will come with time, but when guys love to compete and win, you just love having guys like that on your team,” Rambis said.
Jefferson’s block magnified the Wolves’ defensive revival in the second half. Lopez had a game-high 27 points but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Rambis got on his players after allowing Lopez several uncontested baskets in the first three quarters. Lopez helped the Nets build a 55-43 lead at halftime, leading to Rambis’ choice words.
“We identified ourselves in the fourth quarter as a scrappy team,” Flynn said. “A lot of the defensive problems we had earlier was from miscommunication.”
The Wolves’ defensive adjustments contributed to New Jersey’s 22 turnovers. Wilkins, who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, also had four steals. Corey Brewer had two of his three steals in the fourth quarter and hit a key jumper with 1:33 left to cut the Nets’ lead to 91-90.
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