Bobcats-Timberwolves Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Nov 14 2012 2:43PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves' strong start to the season is made even more impressive by the sheer number of injuries they've sustained.

They won't be getting any reinforcements Wednesday night, when they go for their best home start to a season in 10 years as they face the Charlotte Bobcats.

Minnesota (5-2) continues to be without stars Kevin Love (broken right hand) and Ricky Rubio (torn left ACL), who haven't played a game this season.

The Timberwolves are also dealing with injuries to forward Chase Budinger (left knee surgery), guard J.J. Barea (left foot sprain) and swingman Brandon Roy (sore right knee), and center Nikola Pekovic left Monday's 90-82 win at Dallas with a sprained left ankle after scoring 20 points.

"I don't know when it's going to stop," coach Rick Adelman said. "Hopefully we can get some guys back and maintain the same energy level we've had."

Adelman won't be getting any players back Wednesday. Pekovic, who leads the team with 15.3 points per game, has been ruled out along with Roy and Barea, leaving the team with nine healthy players.

The Timberwolves still have a chance to improve to 4-0 at home for the first time since 2002-03.

"I credit our character," said forward Andrei Kirilenko, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds Monday. "Nobody really looks down and nobody feels sorry. Everybody just keeps coming out and trying to give their best."

That effort has resulted in opponents averaging 88.4 points, and that shrinks to 83.0 at home.

Minnesota limited Charlotte (3-3) to 42.3 percent from the field in winning both meetings last season, including a 102-90 victory at home on Feb. 15.

Although the Bobcats have lost their first two road games, they did follow Saturday's 101-97 overtime win against the Mavericks with a 92-76 victory against winless Washington on Tuesday. They held the Wizards to 29.8 percent from the floor and 5 for 31 from 3-point range.

Now, Charlotte has a chance at its first three-game winning streak since a four-game run from March 25-30, 2011.

"Any time in this league when you can get any type of win streak it is good," said guard Ramon Sessions, who had 21 points Tuesday. "Definitely for a young team like us trying to build things, I think that's a big plus."

It took the Bobcats 30 games last year to get to four wins.

"Players gain confidence with victories," first-year coach Mike Dunlap said.

A third straight win would do wonders for Charlotte's confidence, but likely will need more from Kemba Walker to achieve that. The second-year guard has averaged 10.5 points in two road games compared to 22.5 in four at home.

He scored 21 on 9 of 17 from the field in the Bobcats' last visit to Minnesota, the first of his career.

It's unclear if Ben Gordon, averaging 14.6 points, will be available after he was a late scratch Tuesday due to a family emergency. He averages 19.0 points in six games at Target Center.

Walker's jumper lifts Bobcats over Wolves, 89-87

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Nov 14 2012 11:37PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Tie game, clock winding down, ball in his hands. It's been a while since Kemba Walker has been in that situation.

When he finally found himself there with the Charlotte Bobcats, the super-slick guard dipped into his UConn bag of tricks. Just like Villanova, Texas, Pitt and most other college teams he vanquished, the Minnesota Timberwolves had no chance.

Walker's jumper with 0.7 seconds left lifted the Bobcats to an 89-87 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, giving Charlotte its first three-game winning streak in nearly 20 months.

Walker finished with 22 points, five assists and four rebounds, and his 19-footer over the out-stretched arm of Alexey Shved before the young Bobcats mobbed him in the backcourt to celebrate a victory that was so difficult to come by last season.

"Tonight, you can say that," Walker said when asked if it felt like he was back in Storrs, Conn. "It felt like one of those days. I had a lot of game winners in my college career. It definitely felt like one of those days."

Byron Mullens had 12 points and 15 rebounds and Ramon Sessions had 18 points and six rebounds for Charlotte, which has won three straight games for the first time since March 2011.

Andrei Kirilenko had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who used a 16-2 run to tie the game with 12.3 seconds left.

The Wolves were without six of their top seven players: Kevin Love (broken right hand), Ricky Rubio (left knee), Chase Budinger (left knee), Nikola Pekovic (left ankle), JJ Barea (left foot) and Brandon Roy (right knee). They were relegated to high-priced assistant coaches on Wednesday night, and their encouragement wasn't enough to help a plucky group of role players scratch together another win.

"Down the stretch it was like, `What are we going to do?"' coach Rick Adelman said. "Who are we going to go to?"

The Bobcats looked like they would cruise to the win when they led 85-71 with about four minutes to go.

But Minnesota's dormant defense came alive in the last four minutes and Kirilenko's layup trimmed it to 85-81 with just more than two minutes to play. Bobcats guard Reggie Williams then got a technical foul with 38.9 seconds left for calling timeout when they had none remaining, and Luke Ridnour knocked down the free throw to make it 87-86.

Derrick Williams made one of two free throws to tie it before Walker went with a lightning-quick stutter step to create a sliver of daylight between him and Shved. The ball swished through, just as it did so many times for him as a Husky.

Ridnour had 16 points and 10 assists and Shved scored 13 for the Timberwolves, who shot just 38 percent and missed 17 free throws.

"He hit a tough shot," Ridnour said. "That one stings."

It was a good lesson for the young Bobcats, who certainly can't be blamed for not knowing how to close games out.

The Bobcats slogged through a 7-59 season last year, the worst winning percentage in NBA history. They lost 23 in a row to close last season and never put two wins together. But new coach Mike Dunlap has infused the baby-faced roster with some confidence and the freedom to get out on the break and run and gun.

"It's because the guys have bought the message and they've worked hard on the wood," Dunlap said. "We've had some long practices and we've heard some squawking on that. Hopefully the volume gets turned down on that a little bit because they can see the benefit."

They shot 54 percent in the first half, using their young legs to overcome playing the second night of a back-to-back and take control of the game. Charlotte blocked 12 shots, making life extremely difficult for Williams (3 for 12), Greg Stiemsma (0 for 6) and Malcolm Lee (3 for 12) near the basket.

"It's a lot better learning in a win, I can tell you that much," Walker said. "But it's very important. There's going to be more games when we have that same situation. We've got to learn to take care of the basketball, make the right plays when we're up big."

NOTES: Bobcats G Ben Gordon missed the game for personal reasons. ... Love is scheduled to have an X-ray on his hand on Tuesday to see if he can start increasing his workload. He is expected to be back by the first week in December at the latest. ... Tyrus Thomas had 10 points and three blocks for Charlotte.

Notebook: Bobcats 89, Timberwolves 87

Tom Coyer, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:39 PM - Updated Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:04 AM

THE FACTS: The Charlotte Bobcats won their third consecutive game, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 89-87 in Minneapolis on Wednesday night. The Bobcats, playing their second of back-to-back games, held off a late Minnesota surge that erased a 16-point, fourth-quarter Bobcats lead. Minnesota went on a 19-5 run in the last 4:22 that was capped by a Derrick Williams score-tying free throw with 12.3 remaining. But Kemba Walker hit the game-winning jumper with 0.7 to ice the game for Charlotte, pushing their record to 4-3. Walker led the Bobcats with 22 points and Andrei Kirilenko led the Wolves with a game-high 26.

QUOTABLE: "I thought that ... I wouldn't put this win in the category of ugly in that we were in control. But the last six minutes was ugly for us. You really have to make that distinction. We came in here controlled the tempo, kept the crowd out of it and there are some ugly wins but this was the prettiest ugly woman I ever saw."

-- Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap

THE STAT: Minnesota had ample opportunities at the free-throw line, but converted only 20-for-37 (54.1 percent). The Wolves were not much better from the field, missing 50 shots as Charlotte held them to 38.3 percent for the game.

TURNING POINT: Charolotte led by double-digits for most of the game. But with 8:11 remaining and down 16, Minnesota used a 5-0 run to get the home crowd energized, sparked the comeback and made the game interesting. It was this run that prevented Wolves coach Rick Adelman from throwing in the towel early. Ultimately, Walker made the Minnesota run a moot point.

QUOTABLE II: "Kemba has done that his whole career. What I liked was that he pushed the pick away and said, 'This is game.' It's vintage what he is and obviously I have been his biggest fan."

-- Bobcats' Mike Dunlap

BAD MOVE: With :38.9 on the clock and leading by two points with the ball, Reggie Williams called a timeout for the Bobcats. But they were out of timeouts, giving a free throw to Minnesota and possession of the ball.

NOTABLE: Charlotte finished with just seven wins last season. With Wednesday's win, they are now a game over .500 at 4-3 and have a three-game win streak for the first time since March 2011.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Friday vs. Golden State, Wednesday vs. Denver and Friday vs. Portland. For the Bobcats, Saturday vs. Memphis, Monday vs. Milwaukee and Wednesday vs. Toronto

• Bobcats: Henderson, Warrick
• Timberwolves: Love, Roy, Rubio

• Bobcats: --
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #28 Zach Zarba, #29 Mark Lindsay, #38 Michael Smith
• Attendance: 13272
• Duration: 2:18