Wolves Hold Off 76ers

Wolves Postgame Audio
Randy Wittman

Craig Smith

Ryan Gomes

A collective sigh of relief was exhaled Wednesday night at the Target Center. The relief was also felt inside the locker room.

"I told the team, 'the ice is off the lake and it's not going to freeze anymore.' We broke the ice tonight and that's gotta help them," Wittman added. "But I think the thing that's going to help them is we made plays down the stretch."

A surprise star of the game led the Wolves to a 102-96 victory, to snap an eight-game losing skid. “The Rhino” jumped off the bench for 21 points, a season-high. Craig Smith worked on both ends of the floor; defensively he battled Sixers star, Elton Brand.

"Craig Smith was huge off the bench tonight, coming in and giving us two halves that was probably the best he's played this year," Randy Wittman said.

Smith may have been the unexpected hero but it was the reliable man in the middle that hit three straight baskets in the final three minutes to help push the Wolves lead. Al Jefferson, again, found a way to score against one of the best forwards in the league in Elton Brand and he finished with 25 points and eight rebounds. Mike Miller closed the door with a 3-pointer with only 30 seconds left in the game to seal a much-needed victory for Minnesota. Miller scored ten points, grabbed ten boards, and dished out six assists.

"That's what he can do for us, 10 (points), 10 (rebounds), and 6 (assists) is pretty good. I thought we took care of the ball for the most part that period there in the late third quarter or early fourth where we had uncontested turnovers, we gotta eliminate those. Mike was active tonight," Wittman said.

The start to the game was a struggle for the Wolves as the team faced a 19-6 deficit with six minutes left in the first quarter. Minnesota bounced back to take a 56-52 lead into halftime, which was a familiar sight for the hometown crowd. A four-point and ten-point halftime lead against the Spurs and Blazers resulted in losses for the Wolves, this game proved to be a different story.

The shooting for the Wolves improved throughout the contest and the squad finished 51 percent from the field while holding Philadelphia to 47 percent. Andre Miller led the 76ers with 20 points and Elton Brand snagged 13 rebounds; Philadelphia dropped to 5-6 on the year.

Minnesota will look to carry the momentum into a huge game against the defending World Champion Boston Celtics and the return of Kevin Garnett on Friday night.