Timberwolves-Bobcats Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Mar 28 2012 1:47AM

Despite their poor history in Charlotte, the Minnesota Timberwolves hope facing the lowly Bobcats will help prevent their current rough stretch from lingering.

The Timberwolves look to bounce back from their latest defeat and avoid a fifth consecutive road loss to the Bobcats on Wednesday night.

Minnesota (24-27) won three of its first four games in March, but has since dropped eight of 11 to fall outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves' recent struggles on the road have played a big part in that dismal stretch.

Kevin Love had 28 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday but Minnesota shot 38.8 percent while losing for the sixth time in seven games away from the Target Center, 93-86 at Memphis.

The Timberwolves continue to play short-handed with improving center Nikola Pekovic likely to miss a fifth straight game with bone spurs in his ankle and backup guard J.J. Barea his third in a row because of a thigh contusion. Star rookie Ricky Rubio is already lost for the season after undergoing knee surgery.

"(The guys in uniform are) all we've got right now," Love said. "I know other guys need to step up and play as hard as they can. We're definitely finding out about ourselves."

Though they held the Grizzlies to 0-for-11 shooting from 3-point range, the banged-up Timberwolves are giving up 110.6 points per contest during their last seven road games.

Minnesota is 1-6 all-time on the road against the Bobcats, allowing an average of 110.5 points during a four-game losing streak in Charlotte.

Despite their recent woes and their historical problems in Charlotte, the Timberwolves should still feel good about their chances Wednesday against a Bobcats team that is 4-18 at home this season. Love scored 30 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to help Minnesota snap a four-game overall losing streak to Charlotte (7-40) with a 102-90 home victory Feb. 15.

Averaging 30.6 points in 14 games this month, Love has totaled 65 and 33 boards in his last two against the Bobcats - both in Minnesota. He's been held to 11.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest in three career games at Charlotte.

The Bobcats' latest home defeat came Monday, 102-95 to Boston. Swingman Gerald Henderson scored 21 points, but Charlotte was unable to rally from a 33-15 deficit after the first quarter, losing its fourth in a row.

One bright spot was the Bobcats' bench, which outscored the Celtics' reserves 59-9. Backup center Byron Mullens had 18 points and Derrick Brown added 16 for Charlotte, which remains the only NBA team with fewer than 10 victories.

"We competed and this is the way it's going to be from here on out," coach Paul Silas said. "I told our guys prior to the game that we have to run, we have to push the ball up and we have to finish. This is the way we're going to play. We're going to give ourselves a chance to win."

Despite scoring seven points on 3-of-11 shooting in a 102-89 loss at New Jersey on Saturday, Henderson has averaged 19.0 on 60.3 percent shooting in his last five games.

Love leads Timberwolves past Bobcats, 88-83

By STEVE REED
Posted Mar 28 2012 10:40PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Kevin Love is playing so well this month he's beginning to garner MVP consideration.

And rightfully so.

Sure, the Minnesota Timberwolves might be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture, but Love's numbers are getting harder and harder to ignore.

Love had 40 points and 19 rebounds Wednesday night to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to an 88-83 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

It was Love's third-highest point total in March, and pushed his scoring average in 15 games in the month to 31.2.

Love has scored at least 20 points in 14 of his last 15 games and has 44 double-doubles on the season, including nine straight games.

Before the game, Bobcats coach Paul Silas said Love without question should be considered an MVP candidate and his opinion didn't change after he dominated his young big men Bismack Biyombo and Byron Mullens.

"If he continues to do what he's doing for a good portion of his career he's going to be one of the best ever," Silas said. "He's just tenacious. That ball goes up and he's there. And he's strong... The young boys we have are not ready for that. So that makes it difficult."

As for all of the MVP talk, Love said, "In some ways it's warranted, but we need to win a lot more games in order to be anywhere close to that."

Love said he feels like he's worked hard on his conditioning to get where he is and he's in a good groove when it comes to shooting the ball.

"I'm not stopping," Love said. "I'm continuing to get better."

Love got some needed help against the Bobcats.

Point guard Luke Ridnour had a season-high 14 assists and added 15 points for Minnesota, fighting to get into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Forward Anthony Tolliver added his first double-double of the season as well, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

But Love was the key.

The Timberwolves led 68-65 entering the fourth quarter when Love hit back-to-back 3-pointers to quickly push the lead to nine. A short while later, he faked a low post move to the middle and spun past Byron Mullens for an easy basket.

Love scored 11 of Minnesota's first 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Love, who lead the league in minutes played, played the entire second half and converted 14 of 31 field goals for the game, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

"The only one that could slow him down was Najera," Silas said. "They guy played 43 minutes and that's a lot of time. But they needed to win. They played him and he got the win for them."

"He's just playing at a high level," said Minnesota coach Rick Adelman. "His concentration is at a high level. He's been spectacular. What else can you say?"

The Bobcats trailed by nine late in the first quarter, but closed the half with a 20-9 run to take a 47-45 lead into the locker room after getting a big lift off the bench from rookie Kemba Walker and veteran Eduardo Najera.

The Bobcats held Love without a point during that span.

But there was no stopping Love in the second half as he scored 26 points. Love scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and the Timberwolves (25-27) led the entire second half to win a game they had to have.

Love scored in almost every way imaginable, hitting from the outside, driving to the hole, making great low post moves and putting back missed shots by teammates.

"I think his activity is what sets him apart," Adelman said. "Luke missed that jumper down the stretch there and he followed it up, had the point guard on him and he got the offensive board and put it in. Those are just hustle plays. That's what he's been doing."

Silas said if Love continues to play like he has for the rest of his career that "he's going to be one of the best ever."

"You just don't see anybody in this league who can score the way he scores and rebound the way he rebounds," Silas said. "You have to keep an eye on him all of the time. When the ball goes up you have to find him."

Corey Maggette had 22 points, and Kemba Walker added 20 for the Bobcats (7-41), who remain the only NBA team with fewer than 10 wins this season.

NOTES: Charlotte's backups outscored its starters the last two games - getting 59 points against the Boston Celtics and 49 against the New Jersey Nets - but only got 26 against the Timberwolves. ... Silas said afterward he's worried about the play of point guard D.J. Augustin, who has missed 21 of his last 26 shots from the field and failed to score against Minnesota.

Notebook: Timberwolves 88, Bobcats 83

Posted Wednesday March 28, 2012 10:41PM

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Kevin Love continued his torrid March with a 40-point, 19-rebound performance as his Minnesota Timberwolves downed the Charlotte Bobcats 88-83 Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Corey Maggette led the Bobcats with 22 points

QUOTABLE: "This was a big win for us tonight especially after last night. We came out tonight and played a tough Charlotte squad. They hung tight for three quarters and we took care of things in the fourth. It was definitely an important one for us."
-- Minnesota forward Love

THE STAT: Extra chances. Minnesota took advantage of their opportunities Wednesday. The Timberwolves grabbed 13 offensive rebounds compared to just six for Charlotte and converted them into 23 points while Charlotte generated only six points. The Timberwolves also had a 50-38 edge on the glass over the Bobcats.

TURNING POINT: All Love all the time. Minnesota set the tone to start the fourth quarter with back-to-back threes from Love. That pushed the Timberwolves lead from 68-65 to 74-65 and squashed most of Charlotte's momentum.

QUOTABLE II: "The guys are really doing a good job of setting me up out there. I've gotten into a great rhythm right now. When you've got that rhythm out there it makes things pretty easy. It's been great."
-- Love

HOT: Love led both teams with his 40 points and 19 rebounds and has been on a hot streak. He's averaging 31.3 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists while making 47.3 percent of his shots and 45.1 percent of his threes.

NOT: D.J. Augustin. The Charlotte starting point guard was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting and registered eight assists against Minnesota Tuesday night. Augustin has not scored in double figures in the previous five games and his 3.4 points per game over that stretch is well below his season average of 11.6 points per game. He is just 5-of-26 from the floor in that stretch.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Luke Ridnour had a quality night for the Timberwolves. Ridnour was 6-of-13 from the floor for 15 points, grabbed four rebounds, pocketed two steals and dished out 14 assists while committing just two turnovers. This is the fourth double-double this month for Ridnour who is had benefitted from the great play from Love. This month Ridnour's averages are 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.

GOOD MOVE: Point guard swap. The Bobcats put Kemba Walker in the lineup in the second half and mixed things up offensively. With Walker getting additional minutes the Bobcats offense seemed more energized. Walker scored 20 points and added four assists and three rebounds.

NOTABLE: Tyrus Thomas was a late scratch for the Bobcats. He was questionable with bursitis in his elbow and was replaced in the stating lineup by D.J. White ... Corey Maggette scored 22 points and topped the 20-point plateau for the seventh time in the last 13 games ... Gerald Henderson scored 15 points which is his eight double-digit performance in the last nine games ... Eduardo Najera grabbed a season-high eight rebounds ... Love recorded his 44th double-double of the season. He has missed a double-double in just four games this season ... Anthony Tolliver scored 11 points and grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

UP NEXT: For the Timberwolves, Friday vs. Boston, Sunday @ Portland, Monday @ Sacramento. For the Bobcats, Friday vs. Denver, Saturday @ Detroit, Tuesday @ Toronto.

• Timberwolves: Pekovic, Rubio
• Bobcats: Higgins

• Timberwolves: --
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #74 Curtis Blair, #16 David Guthrie
• Attendance: 10540
• Duration: 2:04