Timberwolves-Suns Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Mar 01 2012 2:46AM

If the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to make a playoff push, they'll need Kevin Love in the lineup.

If the Phoenix Suns can't turn around their season soon, two-time MVP Steve Nash could end up on another team's roster.

With Love expected back after missing one game with flu-like symptoms, the visiting Timberwolves close out a back-to-back-to-back set on Thursday night when the well-rested Suns go for their ninth consecutive victory in this series.

Already with one more victory than last season, the Timberwolves (18-18) are just one game behind eighth-place Denver in the Western Conference standings. There is real optimism among this group that it can help the team make its first postseason appearance since 2003-04, yet the health of the Timberwolves' best player could determine if that happens.

After a memorable All-Star weekend in Orlando where he won the 3-point shootout and scored 17 points in the West's 152-149 victory over the East, Love has had a rough couple of days. He needed a padded shirt after taking a shot to the ribs in Tuesday's 109-97 victory over the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Clippers, and he missed Wednesday's 104-85 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"You can't say it's (Love's) fault," rookie Derrick Williams said after Minnesota lost for just the second time in seven games. "It's our fault we didn't play to the level we're supposed to play at."

Love, who is averaging 24.5 points with 13.8 rebounds, had 23 points and 16 boards in a 128-122 loss in Phoenix on Dec. 15, 2010. However, he missed the last two matchups against the Suns in 2010-11 with a strained left groin.

Minnesota's top two road shooting performances of last season were in the desert, yet the team did little to slow down the Suns, who averaged 123.7 points and hit 52.5 percent from the field - including 38 for 79 from 3-point range - in their three wins.

Phoenix (14-20) hasn't dropped a game in this series since a 105-103 home loss on Jan. 16, 2009.

The Suns go for a fifth consecutive home win over Minnesota as they return from the All-Star break.

Playing nine of its next 11 at home would seem like it would be to Phoenix's advantage, but coach Alvin Gentry's team is just 7-9 at US Airways Center. Instead of a third consecutive victory heading into the break, the Suns allowed 39 first-quarter points and lost 106-104 to visiting Golden State on Feb. 22.

"I'm disgusted with the way we played and I'm disgusted with the fact that we got a chance to enter the break on something upbeat and positive and instead we just walk through the first 10 minutes of the game," Gentry said.

The Suns need to play with more urgency as they're in real danger of missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a three-year drought from 1985-88.

If Phoenix doesn't improve its 13th-place spot in the standings, the trade talk involving Nash could intensify with the March 15 trade deadline looming.

"It's all rumor and conjecture," Nash said Sunday following his eighth career All-Star appearance. "If something happens, it happens."

Nash will get his first look at Ricky Rubio. The rookie point guard is shooting 4 for 23 over the last three games, but he has 24 assists during that stretch.

If Love can't go, Williams - last season's Pac-10 player of the year at Arizona - would likely make a second consecutive start.

Hill, Suns pull away from weary Minnesota 104-95

By BOB BAUM
Posted Mar 02 2012 12:37AM

PHOENIX (AP) Phoenix's old-timer injected the necessary energy for the Suns, and the weary Minnesota Timberwolves faded away at the finish.

The result was a 104-95 Phoenix victory Thursday night, the ninth consecutive time the Suns have beaten Minnesota.

Grant Hill, at 39 the NBA's second-oldest player by one day behind Kurt Thomas, scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half.

"Grant's so tough and plays with so much energy and passion and leadership, let alone his formidable skill at both ends of the floor," teammate Steve Nash said. "He's a beauty and we needed every bit of him tonight."

Nash, no spring chicken himself at 38, had 13 points, matched his season high with 17 assists and led the team in rebounding with eight. Marcin Gortat added 17 points. It was the first time Minnesota's Ricky Rubio had played against Nash.

"He knows how to play, he's smart and like I said, he's one of the best ever," Rubio said. "He knows how to control the game and he passes very well, which option he has to find for the team and he just runs it and does it."

Six players reached double figures for the Suns in their first game since the All-Star break.

Kevin Love, who sat out the Timberwolves' 104-85 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night because of flulike symptoms, scored 23 on 8-of-25 shooting. Luke Ridnour scored 15 for the Timberwolves, who were playing for the third time in as many nights.

"It just got out of control and the wheels came off," Love said. "Third game in three nights for all these guys and for me being sick, I think we had tired legs down the stretch and it caught up to us."

Minnesota was without Jose Barea, who strained his right calf against the Lakers.

All five starters reached double figures for the Timberwolves, who shot 50 percent (21 of 42) in the first half but 29 percent (13 of 44) in the second. Love was 3 of 13 in the second half, 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter. Minnesota made one of 13 3-pointers. The Suns shot 53 percent.

Hill made four of five shots in a 10-point third quarter to lead the Suns' comeback.

"They were just coming my way," he said. "I had a couple of touches and go to the basket, hit some in the post, off the dribble, transition. I started feeling pretty good and the guys were finding me."

Shannon Brown scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half for Phoenix. Channing Frye added 14 points and Jared Dudley 12.

The Timberwolves took the lead late in the first half and stayed ahead until a 13-2 run by the Suns late in the third quarter.

Love's 3-pointer, the first by either team and the only one of the game for the Timberwolves, put Minnesota ahead 70-64 with 5:06 to play in the quarter.

Frye's 3 ignited the 13-3 Suns' surge. Nikola Pekovic's rebound basket made it 72-67, then Phoenix scored the next 10. Gortat blocked Derrick Williams' shot, and Brown's emphatic breakaway dunk put the Suns ahead for good 73-72 with 2:02 left in the third. Dudley's 16-footer and a layup by Markieff Morris gave Phoenix a 77-72 lead before a pair of free throws by Ridnour made 77-74 entering the fourth quarter.

The Timberwolves cut the lead to two twice, the last time at 81-79 when Williams made one of two free throws with 9:01 to play. The Suns followed with a 9-0 run. Hill's three-point play on a layup after a Minnesota turnover gave Phoenix a 90-79 lead with 6:31 left. Ricky Rubio's two free throws made it 93-87 with 3:48 to go. But Nash made a 3-pointer, then Gortat's layup put the Suns ahead 98-87 with 2:56 to go and the Timberwolves never got closer than seven again.

With Love on the bench, Minnesota broke a 31-31 tie with a 13-3 run to go up 44-34 on two free throws by Pekovic with 3:44 left in the first half. The Suns cut that lead in half to trail 51-46 at the break.

Notes: Minnesota last beat Phoenix on Jan. 16, 2009. It's the Suns' second-longest active streak behind its 10 straight over Washington. ... Phoenix and Miami were the only teams that had not played since the All-Star break going into Thursday night. ... The teams missed their first 10 3-point attempts (three by Phoenix and seven by Minnesota) before Love made one with 5:06 left in the third quarter. ... Minnesota is the only team to play three consecutive nights coming out of the All-Star break.

Notebook: Suns 104, Timberwolves 95

Posted Friday March 2, 2012 12:48AM

By Mike Tulumello, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Minnesota Timberwolves couldn't beat the schedule Thursday night.

The Phoenix Suns slowly wore down the visiting Timberwolves, the NBA's only team to play the first three nights coming out of the All Star break, en route to a 104-95 win.

For the Suns (15-20), Steve Nash had 13 points, 17 assists and eight rebounds. Grant Hill had 10 points while Shannon Brown gave them a much-needed lift off the bench with 12 points.

For the Timberwolves (18-19), Kevin Love had 23 points and 10 rebounds but shot only 8-for-25.

The Suns struggled through early foul problems as the Timberwolves ran up a 44-34 early lead, one the Suns' sliced to 51-46 at hafltime.

"We said, 'Let's keep our composure. They played the last two nights,'" Hill said.

The Wolves still led 70-64 in the third quarter, then Channing Frye hit a 3-pointer to start the Suns on a 13-4 run that made it 77-74 Suns heading into the final quarter.

The Suns, leading 81-79 with 9:00 left, rolled off nine straight points capped by Hill's 3-point play, to ;take a 90-79 lead. A Nash 3-point shot with 3:30 left gave the Suns a 96-87 lead, allowing them to coast home.

The Wolves, who ran up an NBA season-best 72 points off the bench Tuesday night, got only 6-for-21 shooting and 18 points from their reserves.

QUOTABLE: "A lot of what happens this season is the schedule...But there are no excuses. This is a character game."
-- Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, acknowledging before the game that he was "very worried' about his team's energy level as they took the floor for the third night in a row.

THE STAT: The Suns, the No. 26 team in rebounding percentage, outboarded the No. 6 Wolves, 44-37. Love, who averages 13.8 rebounds was held to 10, including three on one play late in the game, in 40 minutes.

TURNING POINT: Though the Suns didn't surpass the T-Wolves until late in the third quarter (on a spectacular fast-break slam by Brown) they started to break the Timberwolves' stranglehold on a slow pace late in the first half.

QUOTABLE II: "He's a beauty. We needed every bit of him tonight."
-- Nash on teammate Hill.

HOT: Hill shot 8-for-12.

NOT: The Timberwolves shot 1-for-13 on 3-pointers.

ROOKIE WATCH: For the Wolves, Ricky Rubio had 13 points, two assists, two steals and just one turnover in 31 minutes. Derrick Williams shot 2-for-10 and had six points, three boards and three steals. For the Suns, Markief Morris had four points and five fouls.

NOTABLE: The Suns won their ninth straight vs. the Wolves, their second-longest streak vs. any team (Washington, 10).

UP NEXT: For the Timberwolves, Saturday @ Portland, Monday vs. Los Angeles Clippers and Wednesday vs. Trail Blazers. For the Suns, Friday vs. Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday vs. Kings and Wednesday @ Oklahoma City.

• Timberwolves: Barea, Lee
• Suns: --

• Timberwolves: --
• Suns: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #38 Michael Smith, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #52 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 15071
• Duration: 2:13