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Share on FacebookWolves Rally, Fall Short To Bulls
Jonah Ballow
Head coach Kurt Rambis
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Corey Brewer
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Jonny Flynn
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Ramon Sessions
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With exactly two weeks until the season opener, the Wolves have plenty of time to work out some of the preseason kinks that were illustrated in the 99-94 loss to Chicago on Wednesday night. After a quick 5-0 first quarter start, Minnesota fell behind by 16 points in its second consecutive loss at the Target Center.
"I thought our effort was better today," head coach Kurt Rambis said. "We came out and played harder; we didn't necessarily play smart as the first quarter got on -- we made some defensive mistakes and opened up a lot of their three-point shooters, allowed them to advance their lead. But we won the last three quarter, so I'm happy with their effort particularly in the second half."
The Wolves put together a valiant effort in the fourth quarter with an 11-3 run to cut the Bulls lead to just three points. Sasha Pavlovic drained a 3-pointer from the left side of the court to give Minnesota the edge for the first time since the first quarter.
Rambis slated rookie Jonny Flynn to play the final stages of the game and the point guard gained valuable experience in a close game. Flynn scored five of his 14 points in the fourth quarter including a fastbreak finish with five minutes remaining in the period. Fans caught a glimpse of the blazing speed from Flynn and his famous smile after handing the Wolves an 88-85 lead.
On the other side, a familiar face led Chicago to its fourth victory in the preseason. Former Wolves 2007 draft pick Chris Richard recorded 10 points in the final quarter while impressing Florida teammates Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah. Richard connected on an old fashioned 3-point play and drilled key free throws to ice the victory for the Bulls.
"There are a lot of defensive concepts that we faltered on in the ball game--a lot of penetrating drives and our bigs did not adhere to their responsibilities of stopping and helping with those drives, and that opened up a lot of either scoring opportunities or second chance opportunities," Rambis said.
Chicago Rookie James Johnson displayed a knack for taking his defender off the dribble at the small forward position. In the final stretch run of the game, Johnson scored nine points and grabbed six boards.
Al Jefferson was held to only two first half points but scored 10 in the second half. The star center continues to build stamina after undergoing knee surgery last February. Jefferson logged over 26 minutes in the loss and orchestrated several strong low post moves.
Brewer also played considerable minutes and did not struggle with his surgically repaired knee. The former Florida Gator was disruptive on the defensive side of the floor with three steals. He also reached the free throw line 12 times on the evening. As a team, Minnesota attempted 49 free throws and shot 39 percent from the floor.
Newly acquired point guard Ramon Sessions may have played his best game in a Wolves uniform. Sessions sliced and diced through the lane to finish with 13 points. Off the bench, Sessions added five assists as he learns the triangle offense.
"These are all games that we're supposed to be learning from, developing and growing, and we're still in training camp mode, we're still trying to put in a lot of concepts, we're still working on guys so that we can put all these little pieces together, so that hopefully the whole--at some point in time--will be making correct, accurate decisions," Rambis said.
Rookie shooting guard Wayne Ellington did not suit up tonight due to a sore ankle. Rambis reiterated that it was a precautionary measure to keep Ellington on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Olesiy Pecherov made his Minnesota debut with 18 minutes at the center position.
Rambis and the Wolves hit the road for a five-game road trip to conclude the preseason. On October 28, Minnesota returns to the Target Center to face New Jersey in the season opener.
For complete coverage, visit Training Camp Central 2009.
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jonah on Twitter.
DOWNLOAD MP3 Corey Brewer
DOWNLOAD MP3 Jonny Flynn
DOWNLOAD MP3 Ramon Sessions
DOWNLOAD MP3 With exactly two weeks until the season opener, the Wolves have plenty of time to work out some of the preseason kinks that were illustrated in the 99-94 loss to Chicago on Wednesday night. After a quick 5-0 first quarter start, Minnesota fell behind by 16 points in its second consecutive loss at the Target Center.
"I thought our effort was better today," head coach Kurt Rambis said. "We came out and played harder; we didn't necessarily play smart as the first quarter got on -- we made some defensive mistakes and opened up a lot of their three-point shooters, allowed them to advance their lead. But we won the last three quarter, so I'm happy with their effort particularly in the second half."
The Wolves put together a valiant effort in the fourth quarter with an 11-3 run to cut the Bulls lead to just three points. Sasha Pavlovic drained a 3-pointer from the left side of the court to give Minnesota the edge for the first time since the first quarter.
Rambis slated rookie Jonny Flynn to play the final stages of the game and the point guard gained valuable experience in a close game. Flynn scored five of his 14 points in the fourth quarter including a fastbreak finish with five minutes remaining in the period. Fans caught a glimpse of the blazing speed from Flynn and his famous smile after handing the Wolves an 88-85 lead.
On the other side, a familiar face led Chicago to its fourth victory in the preseason. Former Wolves 2007 draft pick Chris Richard recorded 10 points in the final quarter while impressing Florida teammates Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah. Richard connected on an old fashioned 3-point play and drilled key free throws to ice the victory for the Bulls.
"There are a lot of defensive concepts that we faltered on in the ball game--a lot of penetrating drives and our bigs did not adhere to their responsibilities of stopping and helping with those drives, and that opened up a lot of either scoring opportunities or second chance opportunities," Rambis said.
Chicago Rookie James Johnson displayed a knack for taking his defender off the dribble at the small forward position. In the final stretch run of the game, Johnson scored nine points and grabbed six boards.
Al Jefferson was held to only two first half points but scored 10 in the second half. The star center continues to build stamina after undergoing knee surgery last February. Jefferson logged over 26 minutes in the loss and orchestrated several strong low post moves.
Brewer also played considerable minutes and did not struggle with his surgically repaired knee. The former Florida Gator was disruptive on the defensive side of the floor with three steals. He also reached the free throw line 12 times on the evening. As a team, Minnesota attempted 49 free throws and shot 39 percent from the floor.
Newly acquired point guard Ramon Sessions may have played his best game in a Wolves uniform. Sessions sliced and diced through the lane to finish with 13 points. Off the bench, Sessions added five assists as he learns the triangle offense.
"These are all games that we're supposed to be learning from, developing and growing, and we're still in training camp mode, we're still trying to put in a lot of concepts, we're still working on guys so that we can put all these little pieces together, so that hopefully the whole--at some point in time--will be making correct, accurate decisions," Rambis said.
Rookie shooting guard Wayne Ellington did not suit up tonight due to a sore ankle. Rambis reiterated that it was a precautionary measure to keep Ellington on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Olesiy Pecherov made his Minnesota debut with 18 minutes at the center position.
Rambis and the Wolves hit the road for a five-game road trip to conclude the preseason. On October 28, Minnesota returns to the Target Center to face New Jersey in the season opener.
For complete coverage, visit Training Camp Central 2009.
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jonah on Twitter.
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