Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog

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Tony Parker leads Spurs past Timberwolves, 106-88

tony parker

Tony Parker scored 20 points to lead the San Antonio in a 106-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, extending the Spurs’ home winning streak to 12 games.

Gary Neal was 3 for 3 on 3-pointers in scoring 15 points for San Antonio, which beat Minnesota at home for the 16th straight time. Tim Duncan added 14 points and nine rebounds and Tiago Splitter had 10 points. Manu Ginobili scored 12 points in the first half before leaving with a strained left hamstring.

J.J. Barea scored 15 points, Nikola Pekovic had 14 and Luke Ridnour 13 for the Timberwolves.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was ejected with 7:22 remaining in the game following a double technical for arguing a foul called against Splitter on Barea. The ejection sparked an 11-0 run for the Spurs, including a dunk and two reverse layups by Splitter.

The Spurs started 3 for 9 from the field with two turnovers in falling behind 16-7. Following a timeout, San Antonio went on a 13-1 run as Minnesota missed 11 shots in a 5-minute drought…

Minnesota F Kevin Love (fractured hand), G Brandon Roy (knee), G Chase Budinger (knee) and Malcolm Lee (knee) did not play. … San Antonio has had 12 different starters this season, the most of any NBA team.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press

Timberwolves guard Malcolm Lee needs two surgeries, out for season

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that guard Malcolm Lee will undergo two surgeries next week. On Monday, January 14, Lee will undergo a right knee cartilage repair. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Jonathan Glashow at Midtown Surgical Center in New York. On Wednesday, January 16, Lee will undergo surgery on his right hip. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

Lee is expected to miss the remainder of the 2012-13 NBA season.

Lee, 6-5, played in 19 games for the Wolves this season, averaging 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 18.1 minutes per game. The Wolves originally acquired Lee from the Chicago Bulls on June 23, 2011.

Thunder wreck injury-riddled Timberwolves

kevin durant

The Oklahoma City Thunder got caught overlooking a short-handed opponent once.

Not twice.

Kevin Durant scored 26 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 and the Thunder pulled away for a 106-84 victory Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were without All-Star forward Kevin Love and four other injured players.

Oklahoma City had lost its last game on a buzzer-beater against a last-place Washington team saddled by injuries to its top three players…

”We don’t really change anything different when we have a bad game,” said Durant, who blocked four shots. ”Every time we lose and we don’t play well defensively, it’s just miscommunications and lapses. Once we take those out of the game, we’ll be all right.”

Alexey Shved scored 18 points for Minnesota, which announced earlier in the day that Love would miss eight to 10 weeks after breaking his right hand for the second time…

Nikola Pekovic added 17 points and 10 rebounds in the opener of a four-game road trip for the Timberwolves. Derrick Williams, forced into playing time at guard because of all the injuries, had 14 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.

Kevin Martin chipped in 19 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, which had a 12-game winning streak in the series snapped last month in Minnesota. Love had 28 points and Barea scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter of that 99-93 win.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Kevin Love injury update: Out 8-10 weeks

kevin love

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that after an examination by Dr. Andy Weiland, a hand specialist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, forward Kevin Love will require surgery to repair the third and fourth metacarpal in his right hand. He injured his hand during the third quarter of the Jan. 3 game at Denver.

Details of the surgery expected to be announced tomorrow. Love is expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks.

For the season, Love has played in 18 games and leads the Wolves in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (14.0 rpg) and double-doubles (14).

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Nikola Pekovic powers Timberwolves over slumping Hawks

Nikola Pekovic

Nikola Pekovic is bulldozing the paint and Ricky Rubio is ready to start ramping up his minutes, giving the Minnesota Timberwolves hope that they can withstand another long stretch without All-Star forward Kevin Love.

Larry Drew’s Atlanta Hawks have hit the skids after a superb start to the season, prompting the coach to label them ”soft,” which never sits very well with professional athletes.

Pekovic had 25 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko added 21 points and the Timberwolves beat the Hawks 108-103 on Tuesday night.

Derrick Williams scored 17 points and Alexey Shved had 15 for the Timberwolves, who were missing coach Rick Adelman due to personal reasons and will be without Love for the foreseeable future while he deals with a broken right hand for the second time this season. Terry Porter filled in as coach and led the Wolves to their first victory over Atlanta since 2006, snapping an 11-game skid…

Josh Smith had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Al Horford had 19 points and 11 boards for the Hawks, who have lost three straight and four of their last five. They lost for the first time this year when Smith and Horford each get a double-double…

Rubio had eight assists, four steals and four points in 18 minutes in his first game back after missing the previous four with back spasms…

Lou Williams finished with 21 points and eight assists for the Hawks, who trailed by 14 to start the fourth but had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Timberwolves sign forward Lazar Hayward to 10-day contract

lazar hayward

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed forward Lazar Hayward to a 10-day contract. Hayward was previously signed by the Wolves on Dec. 31, 2012 and waived on Jan. 6, 2013. The 6-6 forward appeared in two games for Minnesota and totaled 2 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound in 12 minutes.

Hayward, drafted by the Washington Wizards in the first round (30th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, was originally acquired by Minnesota in a draft night trade on June 24, 2010. In 2010-11, he appeared in 42 games as a rookie with the Wolves and finished with averages of 3.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 10.9 mpg. The 6-6 forward was traded to Oklahoma City on Dec. 13, 2011 for two future second-round draft picks. After spending one season with the Thunder, Hayward was traded to Houston on Oct. 27, 2012 and was released by the Rockets prior to the start of the 2012-13 NBA season. Hayward has appeared in 69 NBA regular-season games with Minnesota (2010-11) and Oklahoma City (2011-12), posting averages of 2.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game.

Hayward played collegiately at Marquette University where he started 118 of 138 games, and averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from behind the arc. The second all-time leading scorer in Marquette history with 1,859 career points, Hayward played in a school-record 138 games and earned Second Team All-Big East and Honorable Mention AP All-American honors as a senior.

Kevin Love re-fractures right hand

kevin love

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image) taken this afternoon at TRIA Orthopadedic Center revealed that forward Kevin Love suffered a re-fracture of his third metacarpal in his right hand. The injury occurred during the third quarter of Thursday’s game at Denver.

Love will be examined by Dr. Andy Weiland, a hand specialist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, later this week. An update to Love’s status will be provided after that examination.

Love initially suffered a fracture of his third and fourth metacarpal in his right hand on Oct. 17. For the season, Love has played in 18 games and leads the Wolves in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (14.0 rpg) and double-doubles (14).

Barea leads T-Wolves to 101-97 win over Nuggets

jose juan barea

Not even a sprained finger to their All-Star forward could spoil this win for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And it definitely made up for the clunker they turned in the night before – as much as it can, anyway.

J.J. Barea scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter while Kevin Love sat on the bench with an injured finger, lifting Minnesota to a 101-97 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

The Timberwolves were playing for the second straight night, but fatigue hardly appeared to be a factor as they handed the Nuggets a rare home loss…

”It was good to hit some shots. We’ve been struggling to hit shots as a team,” Ridnour said. ”To be able to get going like that feels good.”

Especially with Love only able to watch after leaving with a sprained finger on his right hand in the third quarter. Love broke the same hand in October, missing the opening nine games of the season, and has struggled to get on track with his jumper ever since.

On the play in which he was injured, Love appeared to be sliding past a Nuggets player in the lane when he suddenly clutched at his hand before heading into the training room. Love had 12 points and 17 rebounds in nearly 24 minutes…

The Timberwolves were without point guard Ricky Rubio, who has been dealing with back spasms and remained in Minnesota during the two-game swing through Utah and Denver.

— Reported by Pat Graham of the Associated Press

Timberwolves sign forward Lazar Hayward

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed free-agent forward Lazar Hayward.

Hayward, drafted by the Washington Wizards in the first round (30th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, was originally acquired by Minnesota in a draft night trade on June 24, 2010. In 2010-11, he appeared in 42 games as a rookie with the Wolves and finished with averages of 3.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 10.9 mpg. The 6-6 forward was traded to Oklahoma City on Dec. 13, 2011 for two future second-round draft picks. After spending one season with the Thunder, Hayward was traded to Houston on Oct. 27, 2012 and was released by the Rockets prior to the start of the 2012-13 NBA season. Hayward has appeared in 69 NBA regular-season games with Minnesota (2010-11) and Oklahoma City (2011-12), posting averages of 2.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game.

Hayward played collegiately at Marquette University where he started 118 of 138 games, and averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from behind the arc. The second all-time leading scorer in Marquette history with 1,859 career points, Hayward played in a school-record 138 games and earned Second Team All-Big East and Honorable Mention AP All-American honors as a senior.