Fourth Quarter Impact

Jonah Ballow
Wolves Editor/Writer
Email / Twitter

The stars of the NBA shine brightly during late game moments.

A snapshot of the final quarters in the recent four-game winning streak for the Wolves reveals a common theme. Al Jefferson has elevated his game with dominant performances that have either secured victories or sparked a critical run to top the opposition.

Jefferson's 4th Quarter Success
Date	Opponent	Time	FG-A	Reb	Pts
Jan. 29	Clippers	10:17	4-5	7	12
Jan. 31	New York	6:48	5-5	0	12
Feb. 5	@ Dallas	6:31	1-3	1	2
Feb. 6	Memphis	12:00	8-8	1	16
4-Game	Totals	35:36	18-21	9	42

Most recently, Big Al dusted off a rusty first half against the Grizzlies and tied a franchise record by draining 8-of-8 field goal attempts for 16 fourth quarter points. The performance featured the vintage Jefferson, the same guy that averaged 23.1 points and 10.9 boards last year. Memphis center Marc Gasol looked helpless while trying to defend the red-hot Jefferson.

The big man provided an honest analysis following the victory on Saturday night, “For the first time this year I kind of felt like the old Al Jefferson.”

The rest of the pack realized the impact of their go-to post player.

"He felt like the old Big Al, he was in the zone," Ramon Sessions said.

"Al's a big guy! When he gets it going he can really get it going," Corey Brewer added.

There was even a moment of levity during the tightly contested game, “There was one shot he took from the outside and he came to me after the ball game and asked me what I thought of it, and I said, 'I thought it was great as long as it went in," head coach Kurt Rambis said.

In the locker room after the win, Jefferson was suffering from cramps in his right arm, an indication of the heavy lifting he experienced. The 23-point effort and first four-game winning streak of the season will help ease all the pain of playing in back-to-back contests.

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