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Share on FacebookWolves Breeze By Knicks
Jonah BallowWolves Editor/Writer
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  DOWNLOAD MP3 Kevin Love DOWNLOAD MP3 Al Jefferson DOWNLOAD MP3 Ryan Hollins DOWNLOAD MP3
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"Overall our guys did a really good job, they kept playing hard, the Knicks made some runs and they just kept playing hard," head coach Kurt Rambis said.
The hometown fans started to grimace when New York put together a 16-6 run to start the first period. After the Wolves fell behind by 15 points, Rambis called a timeout and the team responded, scoring 16 of the next 20 points of the quarter.
"Except for our start, I was very pleased by the way we played for a majority of the ball game," Rambis said. "I thought our guys did a good job, for a majority of the ball game, adhering to what we needed to do defensively, in terms of protecting the paint; they did a good job of building a shell / wall to stop their penetration."
Once again, Ryan Hollins was the catalyst early in the game, making his second consecutive start at the power forward spot and Ryan Gomes moving to small forward. Hollins finished with 16 points and three blocked shots as he rapidly improves while spending quality court time alongside the starters.
"Coach is giving me that faith to start, and play through some of those mistakes. Just play hard, that is pretty much what he asks of us," Hollins said.
At the 10:52 mark of the second quarter, the Wolves snatched the lead on a bullet one-handed pass from Al Jefferson to Love for the easy jam. Love's impact was witnessed all over the court, drilling two 3-pointers and characteristically grabbing 11 boards, four on the offensive glass. The second-year forward ran with a new-look Minnesota second unit that features Damien Wilkins, Wayne Ellington, and Ramon Sessions. The balance has been essential to the back-to-back home victories for the Wolves as they improve to 11-38 on the season.
"Some nights you're only going to get five or seven shots, and some nights you're going to get twenty shots. Coaches have said that all year, that's just something that happened tonight," Love said.
The Minnesota backcourt found wide open lanes to distribute the ball in open floor opportunities. Despite only scoring six points, rookie Jonny Flynn dished out eight assists and Sessions added nine off the pine. Flynn did not sulk or show disdain with his lack of offensive output, he instead, made an impact on the boards by recording a career-high eight rebounds.
Aside from the first five minutes of the game, New York's up-tempo offense stalled. Several of the Knicks settled for quick shots behind the arc and they launched 28 3-point attempts in the loss. However, heading into the fourth quarter New York only faced a 10-point deficit with a dangerous style that can accumulate points in a hurry.
For the second consecutive game, the Wolves shut the door in the final stanza with Big Al leading the charge. Jefferson scored 12 of his 22 points as Minnesota's lead expanded to 20 points with only eight minutes remaining.
The three frontline players for the Wolves have become a formidable force, especially holding off Knicks center David Lee and versatile forward Danilo Gallinari tonight. Lee got his double-double but only shot 8-for-19 in New York's third straight loss. Wilson Chandler led New York with 27 points and the team missed Al Harrington for the second game due to a sore knee.
"We just want them to think of the rest of the season as a starting point for them, this is where we are starting from, let's see what we can do as ball club to get ourselves into these respectable number categories. Forget everything, don't include anything that has happened in the past, just start from right now," Rambis said.
Minnesota hits the practice floor tomorrow afternoon for one of four days to workout before facing Dallas on Friday night.
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jonah on Twitter.
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