Timberwolves-Pistons Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Apr 19 2012 12:09AM

The injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves haven't managed a win in April in three years.

They only have three more chances to end that stunning streak, but a meeting with the Detroit Pistons could be just what they need to do it.

The visiting Timberwolves look to end their 27-game losing streak in April by winning a fourth straight over what could be a tired Pistons team Thursday night.

With Kevin Love (concussion), Ricky Rubio (knee) and Luke Ridnour (ankle) all out, Minnesota (25-38) is mired in an 11-game losing streak - its longest since losing 15 in a row to close 2010-11. An end to this skid would seem to be unlikely since the Timberwolves haven't won a game in April since beating Golden State on April 8, 2009.

After visiting Detroit (23-39), Minnesota returns home to face the Warriors on Sunday - Love's earliest possible return date - before hosting Denver to close the season Thursday.

The Wolves led Memphis by a point at halftime Tuesday before falling 91-84.

"I'm disappointed for the guys. They played their tails off," coach Rick Adelman said.

Minnesota will now try to capitalize on a meeting with the Pistons, who have dropped six of eight and are playing the final game of a stretch of three in three nights. The Timberwolves beat Detroit 93-85 on Jan. 18 after winning both meetings last season, including a 116-105 road victory March 2, 2011.

J.J. Barea will likely play a big role if Minnesota is to end its slide. The point guard has averaged 16.1 points and 9.1 assists while being inserted into the lineup over the last eight games. He had a season-high 28 points while hitting 5 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc against the Grizzlies.

"I'm used to playing 20 or 25 minutes max, but I'm enjoying it," Barea said.

The Pistons are trying to go 2-1 on this busy stretch after getting pounded 116-84 at Atlanta on Wednesday in a game they trailed by as many as 41. That was in stark contrast to their 116-77 win over Cleveland a night earlier.

"We were two different teams," said rookie guard Walker Russell, who had a season-high 15 points against the Hawks. "I don't want to blame the back-to-back because we're supposed to come out and be competitive every night. But sometimes it just happens. They came out and really put it to us."

Greg Monroe continues to be one of the few bright spots for Detroit, making 59.3 percent of his field-goal attempts and averaging 16.6 points over the past five games.

The second-year center has averaged 13.0 points and 12.7 rebounds in three meetings with the Timberwolves, recording 18 and 11 in last season's visit to Detroit.

Austin Daye had a team-high 22 points in that game. Starting on Wednesday as Tayshaun Prince rested during the Pistons' busy stretch, Daye went 1 of 11 and had four points in 30 minutes.

T-Wolves snap 11-game losing streak vs Pistons

Posted Apr 19 2012 10:54PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) It took almost three full seasons, but the Minnesota Timberwolves finally won a game in April.

Nikola Pekovic scored 23 points and J.J. Barea flirted with a triple-double to help the Timberwolves to a 91-80 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. The win was the franchise's first in the final month of the regular season since 2009 - breaking a 27-game losing streak.

"We finally got a win," said Berea, who finished with 13 points, 12 assists and six rebounds to help Minnesota snap an 11-game overall losing skid. "We had a lot of energy and we moved the ball well."

The Timberwolves never trailed and took a 49-31 halftime lead after shooting 57 percent (21 of 37) from the field. An 8-0 run pushed the lead to over 20 points midway through the third quarter but the Pistons rallied in the fourth to make it close.

Tayshaun Prince had 18 points and Will Bynum scored all of his 17 in the fourth quarter for the Pistons, who lost for the second time in as many nights.

"Except for parts of the fourth quarter it was pretty good," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "We just want to see if we can turn this around in the last two games and end the season on a positive note."

Pekovic made five of his first six shots to start the game and had 13 points in the first half to pace the Wolves, who hadn't won since March 28, at Charlotte. He finished with nine rebounds.

The Pistons ended the first quarter by missing 10 straight field goals and shot just 29 percent in the first half. The 31 first-half points were one off their worst halftime output this season.

Detroit trailed 78-55 with less than 8 minutes to play but outscored the Wolves 19-3 over the next 6 minutes to cut the lead to seven points. Pekovic had a putback and dunk in the last 90 seconds to end the rally and force the Pistons to foul.

Pistons coach Lawrence Frank, who called Wednesday's lackluster 116-84 loss at Atlanta "unacceptable," wasn't much happier with most of the next night's effort.

"We looked a little punch drunk at times out there," he said after his team's starters shot a combined 16 of 50 from the field.

Ben Gordon scored 14 points for the Pistons and fellow reserve Charlie Villanueva grabbed 12 rebounds.

Anthony Randolph had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Michael Beasley added 13 points for the Wolves, who finish the season with two home games.

Notes: Adelman said All-Star C Kevin Love (concussion/neck strain) might return for the team's final two games if he is cleared by doctors. Love, who left an April 11 game at Denver after a hard fall, was scheduled to undergo tests Thursday. . Pistons F Ben Wallace did not play Thursday to attend a funeral. . Minnesota's last April win was April 8, 2009, at Golden State.

Notebook: Timberwolves 91, Pistons 80

Posted Thursday April 19, 2012 11:28PM

By Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Center Nikola Pekovic had 23 points and nine rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped their 11-game losing streak with a 91-80 victory over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace Thursday night. Forward Anthony Randolph (15 points, 10 rebounds) and guard Jose Barea (13 points, 12 assists, six rebounds) had double-doubles for Minnesota, which never trailed while leading by as much 23. Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love missed his fifth consecutive game with a concussion. Reserve guard Will Bynum scored 17 fourth-quarter points for the Pistons, who sliced a 23-point deficit to five in the late going.

QUOTABLE: "Hopefully, we can win out and build on this. We're all competitive. Everybody wants to win and this has been a tough season. We lost a lot of important guys. If we had everyone here and we were healthy, we would have make the playoffs, no problem. We were on that path when we had everybody here."
-- Randolph on snapping the losing streak.

THE STAT: 27. The Timberwolves had lost 27 consecutive games in April, spanning four seasons, before their breakthrough performance in Detroit. The last time they won an April game was April 8, 2009 when they defeated Golden State, 105-97. All but one of their 11 consecutive losses entering the game came this month.

TURNING POINT: Playing for the third time in three nights and fourth in five nights, the Pistons were leg weary and their offense disintegrated. Down 21-15, the Pistons missed 19 of their next 20 field-goal attempts and committed five turnovers. By the time center Greg Monroe ended that stretch of futility with a putback, the Pistons were down by 15, 36-21.

QUOTABLE II: "I was close. I needed some rebounds but I was tired. The big guys were doing a good job of rebounding, so I couldn't get them tonight. It's hard to get four rebounds in that fourth quarter."
-- Barea on coming up four rebounds shy of a triple-double.

HOT: Randolph bounced back from two poor outings. He scored just one basket apiece against Indiana and Memphis earlier this week while grabbing a total of eight rebounds. Against the Pistons, Randolph had seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks by halftime, then racked up eight third-quarter points.

NOT: Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey had 32 points in an overtime loss to Chicago Sunday but has gone cold since that outburst. He had eight points against Cleveland Tuesday, was held scoreless in Atlanta Wednesday, then was blanked in the first half Thursday. He finally scored on Detroit's first possession of the second half but wound up with just four points.

GOOD MOVE: Minnesota coach Rick Adelman felt he had a mismatch with bulky Pekovic working against Monroe, Charlie Villanueva and rookie Vernon Macklin. The Timberwolves established Pekovic early, as he powered for 11 first-quarter points. Pekovic then stifled Detroit's comeback with two inside baskets in the final 1:26.

BAD MOVE: Pistons coach Lawrence Frank waited too long to go to his bench during the second half. The reserves scored all of their 32 fourth-quarter points after his club scored just 48 during the first three quarters. Bynum never left the bench until the beginning of the fourth.

NOTABLE: Adelman said Love could return to action against Golden State Sunday. Minnesota has only two games left. "If he wants to play and the doctor says it's OK, I'm happy to put him out there," he said. "If he passes everything, it might be good for him to get back on the floor before the season ends." ... Detroit center Ben Wallace missed the game because of a death in his family. ... Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince had a team-high 18 points. ... Detroit's 31 halftime points was a season low by a Minnesota opponent. The previous low was Washington's 34 on Jan. 8.

UP NEXT: For the Timberwolves, Sunday vs. Golden State, Thursday vs. Denver. For the Pistons, Sunday vs. Toronto, Monday @ Indiana, Thursday vs. Philadelphia.

• Timberwolves: Ridnour, Rubio
• Pistons: Wallace

• Timberwolves: --
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #74 Curtis Blair, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 12458
• Duration: 2:16