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Photo Gallery: Wolves In Mexico City | NBA Cares Clinic

Timberwolves vs. Rockets | 9:00PM, Mexico City Arena

Last season, the Wolves were supposed to play the Spurs in Mexico City. Unfortunately, there were some complications with some equipment in the arena which made it unsafe for anyone in the arena.  Instead, the game was played at the Target Center later in the season (technically making it a true home game for the Wolves, so that was kind of a positive for Minnesota fans).

This game is also scheduled to be play in Mexico City with the Wolves being the home team. Hopefully for the people of Mexico City, this game will indeed be played.

The NBA game is growing, so going across the boarder is almost a no-brainer. The Wolves have a good representation of players from outside of the USA such as Gorgui Dieng, Nikola Pekovic, Ronny Turiaf, Ricky Rubio, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett.

Unfortunately, the Wolves will be without Rubio who is out indefinitely after spraining his left ankle during Friday’s loss to the Orlando Magic. Head coach Flip Saunders called Rubio the heart and soul of the team during Tuesday’s media availability. It will be interesting to see if Saunders starts rookie Zach LaVine for the second consecutive game or veteran Mo Williams.

Minnesota heads into this game with a 2-4 record, while the Rockets sit at 6-1 (tied for the best record in the West). The game airs at 9 p.m. on ESPN and 830 WCCO.

These two teams faced off four times last season and Minnesota was able to win just one game, although, the win was pretty memorable.

The Wolves won 112-110 on April 11 at the Target Center thanks to a career-high 51 points (!!!) from Corey Brewer. Brewer, not exactly a player who would cross your mind to join the 50-point club, finished 19-of-30 from the field, 11-of-15 from the free-throw line and 2-of-6 from deep. He also had a game-high six steals.

Forward Dante Cunningham (now a free agent) added 20 points and 13 rebounds in 42 minutes. Rubio did a little bit of everything, finishing with 16 points, 10 assists, five rebounds a steal.

Dieng finished with 16 points and a game-high 20 rebounds - the second time he had 20 boards against Houston last season.

He also had the game-winning shot. It might not have looked pretty, but it gave the Wolves 40 wins in a season for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign.

Minnesota was shorthanded, playing without Kevin Love (now with Cavaliers), Kevin Martin and Pekovic.

The Wolves are coming off of a 102-92 loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday, despite outscoring Miami 51-49 in the second half.

Minnesota had five players hit double digits, led by Pekovic. Pekovic finished with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. He shot an impressive 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Thaddeus Young added 16 points, while Shabazz Muhammad led the second unit with 13 points in just 11 minutes of play. Dieng also had a strong night off the bench, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds. Wiggins scored 10 points. In his first career NBA start (filling in for the injured Rubio), LaVine finished with five points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal. He played 26 minutes. The Wolves shot just 40.2 percent from the field compared to Miami’s mark of 52.6 percent.

Houston also had a loss on Saturday, falling 98-87 at home against the Golden State Warriors. 

It’s worth noting that the Rockets were without Patrick Beverley, Terrence Jones and Dwight Howard.

Kevin McHale’s club was led by James Harden, who finished with 22 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Harden wasn’t all that efficient, though, shooting just 8-of-24 from the field and 1-of-11 from the three-point line. Isaiah Canaan (filling in for Beverley) added 21 points. Danatas Motiejunas led the second unit with 16 points and eight rebounds, while veteran Jason Terry pitched in with 11.

KEY MATCHUP: ANDREW WIGGINS VS. JAMES HARDEN[[{"fid":"25453","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":"float: right;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]

Harden is a shooting guard, while Wiggins has been playing small forward most of the season, but the positions are really interchangeable in Minnesota's schemes. Saunders will have the decision to match up Wiggins or Martin (limited defensively) against Harden.

So far this season, Harden’s been pretty fantastic. Harden is averaging 25.4 points per game (178 points, first in league), 7.1 assists, 6.7 rebound and 1.4 steals per game. Despite all of those stats, Harden is shooting just 39.5 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from the three—point line. Both are career lows. Most of his points are from the free-throw line. He’s made an NBA-leading 69 free throws this season.

In three games against Minnesota last season, Harden averaged 26.7 points and 7.3 assists per game.

Wiggins has had an up-and-down six games to open his rookie season. He’s averaging 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three-point line. His struggles are at the free-throw line. He’s shot just 9-of-16 from the charity stripe this season. He’s coming off of a 10 point performance against the Miami Heat.

Wolves fans hope Wiggins can keep the All-Star in check. 

Rockets: Francisco Garcia (illness), guard Patrick Beverley (hamstring) and Terrence Jones (leg) are questionable.

Wolves:  Anthony Bennett (soreness in right knee) is questionable. Ricky Rubio (sprained left ankle) is not with the team for tonight’s game.  

Rockets: PG – Canaan, SG - Harden, SF - Ariza - PF - Papanikolaou, C - Howard

Wolves:  PG – LaVine, SG – Martin, SF  Wiggins, PF – Young, C - Pekovic

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Scouting Report: Timberwolves vs. Rockets In Mexico City

Hear some of the audio from Tuesday's practice in Mexico City below.

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Practice Report: Nov. 11, 2014

The Minnesota Timberwolves will tip off against the  Houston Rockets in Mexico City tomorrow night.

 Last season the game got “smoked out.” It was a disappointment, obviously, for both the teams who traveled to play, but more so for the fans. Players described the scene in Mexico City for their game as almost like a Super Bowl atmosphere.

(I’m not sure if any of the players on last year’s roster had actually attended a  Super Bowl, but whatever. You get it. It was a big deal for the people there.)

It’s probably fair to complain a little bit about the Wolves being the “home” team for the second straight year in Mexico City. Last season, the Wolves were home against the Spurs.

Minneapolis is 1,781 miles from Mexico City via flying. San Antonio is 689 miles flying, while Houston is 749 miles

Yeah, I don’t really understand it either. But I’m not going to question anything because I think Adam Silver is awesome and I wear an NBA logo on my shirt. Whatever decision has its reason.

Regardless, this is a special opportunity for both teams and the fans in Mexico City.

Head coach Flip Saunders spoke to reporters today and discussed just that.

“We were disappointed we didn’t play and we were disappointed that the people of Mexico City didn’t have an opportunity to see NBA basketball,” Saunders. “We’re excited about being able to come back here. I know the league has done everything it can to make sure the game goes on without any glitches. We’re excited about it. “

Our team has Alan Horton and John Focke there from the radio side of things. We hope to give you plenty of great content today and tomorrow before the contest.

The game airs on ESPN (NATIONALLLLLL TV!!!!!) and 830 WCCO at 9 p.m. (maybe take a nap during your lunch break tomorrow).

I’m having some friends over and having chips and salsa while taking shots of tequila for every time James Harden plays defense.  

Just kidding, bosses. Thursday is a work day. Just Gatorade and Diet Pepsi for this guy.

Maybe it’s because he always seems to have a smile on his face. Maybe it’s because he kind of looks like he belongs in One Direction. Or maybe it’s because his injuries occur right around the time when it seems he’s going to turn the corner.

If you were watching the game on Friday night against Orlando, your heart probably sank when you saw Rubio drive to the lane and violently roll his left ankle. It looked like it was bad. Like probably broken bad.

Fortunately, we were told after the game that it wasn’t broken but instead a major sprain. A sprain that will likely keep Rubio out around six weeks, although a time table on his injury hasn’t been set yet.

In his five games (including the injury), Rubio averaged 9.4 points, 10 assists (career-high), 5.6 rebounds (career-high) and 1.2 steals. What Wolves fans liked the most was Rubio’s shooting and his confidence. He was shooting 42.6 percent (20-of-46) from the field. That’s a small sample size, but his shooting late in the game against Brooklyn last week was pretty awesome to see if you’re a fan of the Wolves.

You could complain that there were 12 seconds left on the shot clock, sure. But you’re being a negative Nancy. Enjoy the moment.

This does mean more playing time for rookie Zach LaVine, so if you’re looking for silver lining, that’s it.

We’ll get to see LaVine live and learn on the run here.

With that said, most fans would love to see Rubio leading this offense like he did during the first five games. Rubio has had just one negative +/- game this season and that was during the first game against Memphis. In the two wins over Brooklyn and Detroit, along with the loss to Chicago, Rubio averaged a +/- of  11.9.

The Wolves are better when No. 9 is on the floor. Hopefully he’ll be back soon. 

I forgot to write about this after the home opener, so I guess I’ll do it now.

Second-year guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and I talked for a bit before Minnesota beat Detroit at the Target Center on October 30. If you remember, Caldwell-Pope was rumored to have ties with the Timberwolves when it came to the 2013 NBA Draft. For better or worse, the former Georgia star was taken one slot before Minnesota picked. Ultimately, the Wolves traded back for Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng.

That move is looking pretty smart for Saunders now being both Dieng and Muhammad are rotational players.

KCP, though, is learning a bit now that he’s starting at the shooting guard position with Jodie Meeks out.

“I fit in well. We all have different roles and if we all play them well, that’s what brings us together. (It) brings chemistry to the team. We’re just trying to keep it that way.”

That was only the second game of the season, so things may have been going well. Since then, though, KCP has struggled... And so have the Pistons. In seven starts, he’s averaging 12.4 points, but is shooting just 36 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from the three-point line, something he was supposed to excel in. The most frustrating thing,  though, is that with all those attempts, he’s getting to the line just 2.6 times per game. To makes matters worse, he’s making just 55.6 percent of his FT attempts.

He’s playing under Stan Van Gundy, so things will probably get better. SVG has probably told KCP that shooting 19.1 times per 100 possessions, isn’t the recipe for success in Detroit.

Caldwell-Pope seems like he’d be better as a heat-check type of player with the second unit. We’ll have to wait and see until Meeks gets back. 

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Reminiscing With Ratke: Wolves In Mexico City, Rubio's Injury and KCP

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Photo Gallery: Last Year's Trip To Mexico City

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The NBA today announced the Minnesota Timberwolves will play a regular-season game in Mexico City when they take on the Houston Rockets on Nov. 12 as part of the league’s expanded NBA Global Games schedule. Minnesota will serve as the home team when the two squads face off at Mexico City Arena. The game is one of two regular season contests that are a part of an expanded NBA Global Games schedule for the 2014-15 season, with Milwaukee and New York facing off in London on Jan. 15.

“We are very proud to once again represent the NBA in Mexico," said Timberwolves President Chris Wright. "This is a great opportunity for the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves to continue the incredible growth of our international fan base. The Mexico City fans were phenomenal last year and we look forward to visiting them again this season.”

Minnesota is among the most international teams in the NBA, as the Wolves 2013-14 roster featured seven international players from seven different countries. At the start of the 2013-14 season, NBA rosters featured a record 92 international players from 39 countries and territories.

The two regular season games will follow the NBA Global Games preseason games in October that will feature five teams -- the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs -- playing a series of games in Brazil, China, Germany, and Turkey. As part of the NBA’s effort to connect with its fans globally, NBA Global Games 2014-15 now includes a total of nine NBA teams playing seven regular-season and preseason games in seven cities in six countries.

Along with the oncourt action, NBA Global Games 2014-15 will feature a variety of off-the-court activities, including NBA Cares community programs and interactive fan events in each city.  The games will also be supported by a variety of marketing and merchandising partners, while fans will be able to get real time updates through the NBA Game Time App, on NBA.com, and NBA social media channels, and watch globally on television and digital media, including NBA LEAGUE PASS International.

The remainder of the Wolves 2014-15 regular season schedule will be announced at a later date.

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Timberwolves to Play Regular-Season Contest in Mexico City as Part of NBA Global Games Mexico City 2014

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