Pacing on a Winning Streak

Randy Wittman and Glen Taylor have stressed that it’s all about wins down the stretch of the 2007-08 season, and the Wolves have responded.

Having won 5-of-7 games, including a second-half outburst in Wednesday’s win against a struggling Memphis team, Minnesota looks to continue its hot play of late in Indianapolis where they’ll take on the Pacers on Friday.

We took a look at some numbers from the Wolves’ recent winning ways in preparation for Friday’s 6 p.m. Central tip:

2 Consecutive wins for Indiana, including a 110-98 defeat of New York and a 102-95 triumph of Charlotte on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The Pacers are two games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

3 The Wolves’ NBA rank in second-chance points (15.1 per game). In Monday’s win over the L.A. Clippers, Minnesota held the rebounding edge 51-34, the team’s ninth double-digit spread of the year.

4 Times this season the Wolves have won consecutive games. On Friday, Minnesota will have the chance to win three-straight games for the first time this season, which hasn’t happened since Jan. 12, 13 and 15 of last year.

6 Consecutive starts for Marco Jaric, after coming off the bench in eight games prior. Over the course of the Wolves’ last five, Jaric has tossed 31 assists and only committed six turnovers.

9 Consecutive starts for Kirk Snyder, who is averaging 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 27.9 minutes of action over that stretch.

9.0 Average rebounds in the Wolves’ last three for Randy Foye. Foye also tallied a career-high 26 points in a win over the L.A. Clippers on March 8.

17.4 Scoring average for Ryan Gomes in the Wolves’ last seven. Gomes also had a season-high 15 rebounds in a win on March 14 over Seattle.

20 Second-half points for Al Jefferson in Wednesday’s win over Memphis. Jefferson also added 13 rebounds, tallying his 49th double-double (second in the league behind Orlando's Dwight Howard).

32 Points for the Pacers' Mike Dunleavy in Indiana's win over Charlotte on Wednesday. Dunleavy has a team-leading eight 30-point performances, and is a candidate for the league's Most Improved Player Award, as is Al Jefferson.

47.4 Field-goal percentage (615-for-1,298) for the Wolves since All-Star Weekend.

131 Points scored in a Dec. 21 comeback win over Indiana, the second-highest single-game total in franchise history. The game was also the first time in six years that the Wolves have topped 125 points. In addition, the Pacers led by 21 in the second before the Wolves erased the deficit, which is only the seventh time in club history that the Wolves overcame a deficit of 20-plus points.