Pacers-Timberwolves Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Nov 09 2012 10:42AM

While the Minnesota Timberwolves have enjoyed some early success without their two top players, the Indiana Pacers continue to struggle offensively minus injured star Danny Granger.

The Timberwolves look to win three in a row by handing the visiting Pacers a third consecutive defeat Friday night.

Even with star Kevin Love sidelined for at least six weeks with a broken right hand and Ricky Rubio recovering from a torn ACL, Minnesota (3-1) is off to a solid start thanks to some quality depth and strong defensive play. Luke Ridnour scored 19 points to lead five Minnesota players in double figures in Wednesday's 90-75 win over Orlando.

Though the Timberwolves aren't the most intimidating offensive team in the league - scoring more than 92 points once - they have four players averaging at least 11.0, led by third-year center Nikola Pekovic at 14.0. Derrick Williams added 14 on Wednesday as Minnesota went on a 28-6 run to break things open.

While the offense has been balanced, it's been a surprisingly strong defense that has paced the Timberwolves' success. Minnesota allowed an average of at least 100 points in each of the past five seasons, but currently ranks among the league leaders giving up 89.0 per contest.

The Timberwolves forced 20 turnovers, recorded 11 steals and blocked nine shots against the Magic. Minnesota is averaging 8.5 blocks.

"We've got a group of guys that is willing to work and wants to do the little things," said reserve forward Greg Stiemsma, who had 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes Wednesday. "We know we're going to have to do it every night, especially now that we're a little short-handed. We're not going to make excuses and just go out and play our style."

As Minnesota looks to match its longest winning stretch from all of last season, Indiana (2-3) must find a way to score without Granger (knee).

After shooting 34.2 percent in a 101-79 loss at San Antonio on Monday, the Pacers were outscored 24-9 in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's 89-86 defeat at Atlanta. The result came hours after the team announced Granger would miss up to three months after receiving an injection in his left knee to treat patellar tendinosis.

The All-Star, who has not played a game, averaged a team-leading 18.7 points last season. The Pacers have looked lost without him while averaging 90.0 points and shooting 40.3 percent.

Wednesday's effort was particularly frustrating as the Hawks used an 18-0 run to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter Indiana lead.

"Everybody," said Indiana guard George Hill, who scored 20 points. "It starts by everybody holding each other accountable. We've got to figure out what we can do better to be a better team."

David West, who also had 20, has done his best to carry the scoring load while averaging a team-leading 17.4 points. He scored 22 and pulled down 10 rebounds during a 111-88 home victory over the Timberwolves on April 16.

Indiana has won five of seven against Minnesota, including both meetings last season by a combined 33 points.

Budinger's layup lifts Wolves to win over Pacers

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Nov 09 2012 11:39PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) One by one, the key players for the Minnesota Timberwolves keep going down.

One by one, someone else keeps stepping up for a team that has emerged as one of the big surprises of the first two weeks of the season.

Chase Budinger converted a layup on a feed from Andrei Kirilenko with 0.8 seconds to go, lifting the Timberwolves to a 96-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Budinger scored 18 points while subbing for the injured Brandon Roy, who left at halftime with a sore right knee. The three-time All-Star is attempting a comeback after chronic knee issues forced him to retire from Portland before last season.

Kevin Love (broken hand), Ricky Rubio (torn ACL) and JJ Barea (sprained foot) were already out for Minnesota, but that just doesn't seem to matter right now.

"It's OK," Kirilenko said with a shrug. "We'll still keep winning. Injuries, that don't matter. Winning is what matters.

Alexey Shved had 11 points and seven assists and Nikola Pekovic added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves (4-1), who are three games over .500 for the first time since they were 20-17 in the 2006-07 season.

George Hill had 29 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost three in a row. David West had 19 points and 13 boards.

"We just have to learn how to finish the game," Hill said. "We're there at the end of the game and that's the good part. There's no use in hanging our head now, there's 75 games left in the season, but we have to learn how to finish it."

Shved, a rookie from Russia, ran the pick-and-roll like a seasoned veteran against Indiana's stout defense, creating scoring chances for himself and his teammates.

His layup gave the Wolves a 78-69 lead with eight minutes to go in the game. But he also picked up his first American technical foul during a 7-0 run by the Pacers that got them within two points. West's putback two minutes later tied it at 86.

Shved followed with a tough drive and another layup off a steal from Kirilenko, and the Wolves used an 8-2 spurt to open a 94-88 lead with under a minute to play.

But Hill converted a three-point play, then made a tying 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 3.8 seconds remaining.

The final play was recommended by assistant coach Bill Bayno and designed for Kirilenko, who grabbed the inbounds pass on the right wing, calmly took a few dribbles and looked toward the basket. Budinger was out past the 3-point line and started cutting to get into position for a possible tip-in of a missed shot.

But Pacers guard Gerald Green wasn't paying attention, and Budinger wound up wide open under the basket. Kirilenko found him for the game winner, sending the Target Center crowd into a euphoric roar.

"I lost vision of my own man, a careless mistake," Green said. "I don't know what to say. I get paid too much to make that kind of mistake."

Derrick Williams scored 15 points and Dante Cunningham had 11 for the Wolves, who are hopeful that Roy's chronic knee issues have not returned.

Roy sat out all of last season, but felt rejuvenated this summer after receiving an experimental treatment to try to address the lack of cartilage in both knees. In need of a veteran shooting guard who could get his own shot late in games, the Wolves signed him to a two-year deal. He played at least 21 minutes in each of the first four games this season, issuing no complaints.

Coach Rick Adelman said it was too soon to tell how serious the injury was, but Roy planned to make the trip to Chicago for the team's game on Saturday in case he was feeling good enough to play.

The Pacers have some serious injury problems of their own. They found out this week they are going to have to play without leading scorer Danny Granger for the next three months because of an issue with his left knee, dealing a big blow to a scrappy team that gave the Miami Heat all they could handle in the playoffs last season. They've struggled to replace his offense, only topping 90 points twice this season.

"Our margin for error is very small," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We've got young and inexperienced players in there at crunch time. We dropped a couple of games because of it. That's what we're trying to overcome without Danny Granger."

NOTES: Pacers C Roy Hibbert had 10 points, but was on the bench most of the fourth with foul trouble. ... The Pacers are 0-3 on their current road trip. ... Barea will not make the trip to Chicago. He will be evaluated again on Sunday, with the possibility of joining the team in Dallas.

Notebook: Wolves 96, Pacers 94

Jim Beilby, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:40 PM - Updated Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:40 PM

THE FACTS: With both teams missing key players, the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves needed their benches to step up. And Minnesota's bench did exactly that as the Timberwolves improved to 4-1, defeating the Pacers 96-94 on Friday. Chase Budinger led Minnesota with 18 points, none more important than a layup with 0.8 seconds to play that gave Minnesota the victory. George Hill led the Pacers with 29 points, including a big step-back 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds to play to tie the score at 94. David West also had a strong game for the Pacers, scoring 19 and grabbing 13 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "You have to give Andrei [Kirilenko] credit [on that last play] because he was really patient when he got it and he didn't throw up a quick shot. Chase got an unbelievable cut from the 3-point line. . . After Nikola [Pekovic's] miss, we were holding our breath that he could just finish the play. It was a great win for us."

-- Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

THE STAT: Minnesota's bench scored 48 points, a number that matched the output of their starters. Minnesota also shot 50 percent from the floor and outrebounded the top-ranked rebounding team in the league 44-43.

TURNING POINT: Minnesota led by two points 86-84 with a little over three minutes in the game when rookie Alexey Shved took an ill-advised 3-pointer with plenty of time left on the clock, allowing Indiana to tie the game on the next possession. But Shved redeemed himself, scoring on a nice driving layup the next possession and then, immediately after that, another layup on a stolen inbound pass. Minnesota looked to have the game in hand, up by three with the ball, with less than 30 seconds to play. However, after a missed wide-open layup by Pekovic and a clutch 3-pointer by Hill, Minnesota needed a great backcut by Budinger and a perfect pass by Kirilenko to secure the win.

QUOTABLE II: "Our margin of error is very small when you have young and inexperienced players in there at crunch time. We have lost a couple games because of it and we have to overcome it. With losing Danny Granger, we have to find that replacement for him in crunch time to finish those games."

-- Indiana coach Frank Vogel

NOTABLE: Brandon Roy played 15 minutes in the first half, but did not come out of the locker room after half due to a sore right knee. With Budinger leading Minnesota in scoring, the Wolves have had five different players lead the team in scoring in their first five games.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Saturday @ Chicago, Monday @ Dallas, Wednesday vs. Charlotte. For the Pacers, Saturday vs. Washington, Tuesday vs. Toronto, Wednesday @ Milwaukee.

• Pacers: Granger, Johnson
• Timberwolves: Love, Rubio

• Pacers: --
• Timberwolves: Shved

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 13

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #70 Brent Barnaky, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 18222
• Duration: 2:12