Wolves pack it in
MINNEAPOLIS – Instead of putting away Seattle, the Minnesota Timberwolves gave away the game – and maybe their chance to make the playoffs.
Up by 25 points with 5 minutes left in the third quarter, Minnesota was outscored 51-18 the rest of the way and 25-2 to end the game, losing 114-106 to the SuperSonics on Tuesday night after the biggest blown lead in franchise history.
“It’s been the same thing all year,” Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. “We play the right way for three quarters. … We either don’t respect the game or don’t respect the opponent. It comes back to get you every time.”
Rashard Lewis led Seattle’s comeback with 21 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. Earl Watson set a career high with 24 points, while Chris Wilcox also finished in double figures with 19.
The loss was a serious blow to Minnesota’s playoff chances, as the Wolves entered 3 1/2 games back of the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. Instead of gaining ground, Minnesota was left to contemplate its biggest blown lead in the history of the team, surpassing a 22-point blown lead to Dallas on Dec. 18, 2001. The Wolves’ biggest blown advantage this season was 17 points against Charlotte on Feb. 21.
“For some reason, I didn’t initiate and keep us together down the stretch, and that bothers me,” Wolves forward Kevin Garnett said. “We got a great lead, but in the second half I didn’t keep us aggressive like we should have.”
Instead, Lewis was the aggressor for the final 12 minutes – attacking the basket on offense while slowing Garnett on defense.
“We went to him at the end of the game when we had to have them and he came through,” Seattle coach Bob Hill said.
Garnett finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but he and the rest of the Wolves didn’t much care after being embarrassed in the final 18 minutes of the game.
It was a complete reversal from the first half, as Minnesota raced out to an early advantage.
The Wolves (30-40) tied a season best with 34 first-quarter points, then set a season high with 35 second-quarter points. Minnesota shot 60 percent in the half en route to a season-best 71 first-half points and a 19-point lead.
After leading by as many as 21 in the first half, the Wolves extended the lead to 25 points on Trenton Hassell’s jump shot with 5:02 to play in the third quarter. But not wanting a repeat of its worst loss of the season two days prior – a 41-point defeat to San Antonio – Seattle tightened up on defense and started its comeback.
“We pretty much figured we would lose the game, but we tried not to get embarrassed,” Lewis said. “We were embarrassed the other night against San Antonio. Then the lead kept getting smaller and we saw that we had a chance.”
The deficit was still 15 points after three quarters, but Minnesota went cold in the fourth as the team stopped sharing the ball and went 4 for 15 from the floor.