Timberwolves vs. Knicks | 7:00 PM, Target Center
Where To Watch: FS North
Where to Listen 830 WCCO
The Minnesota Timberwolves have lost five straight and they are without three of their starters.
Excuses could be made, but the team has made it known this week at practice that it won’t use them. It looks like there will be two 19-year-old players starting this one for Minnesota and there’s a lack of experience, but certainly not a lack of talent.
Minnesota looks like it has a good chance to snap its losing streak against a New York squad that sits at 3-9 and hasn’t quite been able to grasp Phil Jackson’s triangle concept.
Tonight also marks Military Night for the Timberwolves. The night is highlighted by a military color guard, on-court presentations and recognition of all branches of the military. The Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation has donated 5,000 tickets to military members and their families to attend the game and participate in the evening’s salute to service.
You can find more information here.
LAST MEETING
The Wolves and Knicks split the two-game series last season. The last matchup came on March 5 at the Target Center and New York came away with a 118-106 win, its first of eight consecutive wins.[[{"fid":"25941","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","attributes":{"style":"line-height: 1.538em; float: right; background-color: transparent;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
All five starters for New York hit double-digits. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 33 points, five boards, five assists and three steals. Raymond Felton (now with Mavericks) and Amar’e Stoudemire finished with 18 points each. Tyson Chandler (now with Mavericks) had New York’s only double-double, scoring 15 points while hauling in 14 boards. J.R. Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively. New York shot a scorching 52.2 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from the three-point line.
Coincidentally, all five starters from the Wolves also hit double-digits in scoring, but they just didn’t have the same top end scoring that New York had with ‘Melo. Kevin Love (now with Cavaliers) had a team-high 19 points. Nikola Pekovic played well against Chandler, scoring 17 points and hauling in six boards. Corey Brewer added 16 points, while Kevin Martin had 12. Ricky Rubio had a nice all-around game, finishing with 11 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two assists. Rookie Shabazz Muhammad led the second unit with 10 points. The Wolves shot just 7-of-26 from the field.
THIS WEEK’S RESULTS
The Wolves are coming off of a 131-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in Dallas. Offense wasn’t an issue in this one for the Wolves as they shot 50 percent from the field, but head coach Flip Saunders knows his team can’t allow any team to shoot 55.3 percent from the field, something Dallas did.
Martin had a game-high 34 points while shooting 12-of-17 from the field and 4-of-6 from the three-point line. Muhammad led the second unit with 18 points, while Corey Brewer and Mo Williams each added 13. Gorgui Dieng and Anthony Bennett finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Wolves had 17 turnovers while the Mavericks had just seven.
The Knicks are coming off of a 117-113 loss in Milwaukee to the Bucks on Tuesday night. Anthony led the way with 26 points, while Hardaway Jr. led the bench with 24 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field. Stoudemire and Pablo Prigioni added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
KEY MATCHUP: ANDREW WIGGINS VS. CARMELO ANTHONY
Welcome to the NBA, rookie.
Wiggins will get another test thrown at him on Wednesday night as he goes up against one of the best scorers in the NBA.
Anthony has averaged 25.2 points per game throughout his career. He’s averaging 23.9 points per game, though he is shooting 45.4 percent from the field, his highest since the 2010-11 season. Wiggins has already had to deal with Joe Johnson, but most would agree that Anthony is different animal when it comes to scoring the ball.
“He’s an elite player,” Wiggins said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s exciting for me. It’ll be my first time playing against someone like him so I think it’ll be fun. To slow him down I just need to play hard and try to lock in on defense. I’ve got to remember he’s one of the best players in the league, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
Easier said than done.
In two games against the Wolves last season, Anthony averaged 27.5 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 45.8 percent from the field.
In his rookie season, Wiggins is averaging 10.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 46.3 percent from the field.
The Wolves won’t need the points from Wiggins, but they’ll need him to keep Anthony’s down.
Knicks: Center Andrea Bargnani (strained hamstring) and Jose Calderon (strained right calf) are out. Wing Carmelo Anthony (knee) is probable.
Wolves: Ricky Rubio (ankle), Thaddeus Young (personal), Nikola Pekovic (sprained wrist) and Ronny Turiaf (sore right hip) are all out.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Knicks: PG – Larkin, SG – Shumpert, SF – Anthony, PF – Acy, C - Dalembert
Wolves: PG – LaVine, SG – Martin, SF Wiggins, PF – Bennett, C - Dieng