Wolves rookie Corey Brewer turned in one of his best performances of the season in Minnesota's victory over Utah, finishing with 16 points, seven boards and three assists in 26 minutes of burn.
In what's been an up-and-down year for the former Final Four MVP, Brewer landed clearly in the "up" column after doing more than his part to deliver Minnesota's 108-103 win.
"I thought Corey coming in had a really big game," said head coach Randy Wittman. "That is as aggressive and under control in his aggression that he's been, and seven rebounds along with that."
Let's take you through Brewer's evening:
His first bucket was Minnesota's first of the game, a slick driving layup that was nice to see early as Brewer has occasionally struggled with his finishing near the hoop. Two minutes later, Brewer sprinted into the open court after Randy Foye cleared a rebound, caught the pass and went up for a huge flush. Then, with 5:29 still left in the first, Brewer finished another layup, and managed two boards before being subbed out (Kirk Snyder) with 2:56 remaining.
Brewer checked back in at the 7:36 mark of the second quarter for Rashad McCants, and promptly grabbed his third defensive board. He missed his first shot, a 17-foot jumper, before grabbing another board at the 4:34 mark. His first of three offensive rebounds - Minnesota had 13 for the game - came at the 2:08 mark, when he grabbed Al Jefferson's miss and was fouled on the put-back attempt. He made both free throws, and a minute later, fed Jefferson for a big hammer dunk through the lane.
Brewer's first-half stats: Eight points, one assist, five rebounds.
In the third quarter, Brewer's second offensive board resulted in two Marko Jaric free throws, and his jumper at the 9:35 mark gave him 10 points. A minute later, Brewer amassed his second assist when Ryan Gomes canned a J, before the Gator made another layup (4-for-4 near the hoop to that point).
His best mini-stretch of the game started at the 7:14 mark (with the aforementioned fourth layup) and went to the 4:29 mark. He added a beautiful feed to Gomes for a layup, tipped in a Jefferson miss near the hoop, and converted yet another tough shot in the lane for points 15 and 16. Due to matchups and to some solid minutes from his teammates, Brewer didn't actually get back into the game after being subbed out in the third, but his line remained impressive:
Brewer's final stats: 16 points (7-of-10 shooting, 4-of-4 in the third quarter), seven rebounds (three offensive), three assists and one steal.
Snyder-Man Chips In
If Brewer was terrific in the game's first three quarters, it was Kirk Snyder - who checked in for Brewer at the 2:33 mark of the third quarter - who worked to make his presence felt in the final period ... Especially for those at Target Center, who got to see the hilarious "Snyder-Man" graphic of Snyder in a Spider-Man costume - flanked by Kirstin Dunst - that Minnesota's game ops department puts up on the scoreboard after he scores.
Snyder-Man scored six points (including a crucial and-1 with 44 seconds left to put Minnesota up 104-98), grabbed two boards and tossed an assist in fourth quarter, in addition to engaging in his typically hounding defense.
"I was trying to pick my spots and I know this team has a history at the end of games and I saved my energy," said Snyder, who had started the previous 13 games for Minnesota. "Toward the last couple of minutes I tried to take hold of the game and start rebounding and doing the little things that win ballgames."
Together, Brewer and Snyder accounted for 26 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Their play went a long way towards prompting this quote from should-have-been All-Star Deron Williams after the game:
"They outhustled us and outrebounded us pretty much the whole night," he said. "It hurts a lot. This is a game we've got to have, a team that's not playing for the playoffs, and they're definitely dangerous. They play great basketball. You've got to take your hat off to them. They're a young team but they're still executing."
